Sacrifices
by shiny silver grl
Summary: Forced to heal Liz or watch her die, Max learns through their flash what she's done to protect the future....just as the Dupes hit Roswell looking for the Granilith. COMPLETE.
1. pt1

Title: Sacrifices

**Title: **Sacrifices  
  


**Takes Place:** Sometime after "Max in the City", but before the "Hybrid Chronicles".  
  


**Plot:** Forced to heal Liz or watch her die, Max learns through their _flash_ what she's done to protect the future…just as the Dupes hit Roswell looking for the Granilith. Novella length; my first attempt at a real, "involved" story. Put a lot of work into this one. : )   
  


**Written:** From January 5, 2001 – April 7, 2001  
  


**Feedback:** Yes, please! I'm thinking about turning this into a trilogy...the more feedback I get the faster I'll work on it!!!  
  


**Distribution:** Ask and ye shall receive : ) Just lemme know where ya put it so I can go check it out!  
  


**Obligatory Disclaimer**: I don't own 'em, yadda yadda. I'm just playing with 'em for awhile. Especially with Max....mmm, yummy. ;)  
  


**Author's Notes**: **Thanks**: to my sanka friends for being so understanding of my need to write every **freaking** night, and especially to _Bracken_ for being my lovely beta reader. *smooches* You rock, dude! ;) I'm also a Buffy-watcher... in the completed fic (12 chapters), there will be 2 quotes from the show, and at least one reference. Bonus points to anyone who catches 'em!  Also...if you've missed a few episodes here and there that deal with this subject, you might want to check out the backstory at:    [http://www.geocities.com/sils_sanctuary/roswell/backstory.htm][1]

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**_"Sacrifices"_**

~*~*~*~*~

Michael picked up the nearly empty bottle of tobasco sauce and sprinkled it liberally over the rest of his Men-in-Blackberry pie as he continued his argument. "All I'm saying is there's no point in any of us getting attached to any…uh…_permanent fixtures_ of this planet, Tess, when it's obvious we're not gonna be here forever. It's a bad idea getting involved with Kyle." 

"Um hello? Did I **say** I was getting involved with Kyle? I think not. Besides, not like you're one to talk…what with you and Maria."

"Maria and I are **not** together", Michael retorted firmly. "She's just…confused."

Isabel took the tobasco bottle from Michael and used the last of it to drown her dessert. "Hm, and I wonder why?" Isabel said, laying the sarcasm on as thick as the sauce on her strawberries.

"Oh, and what's that supposed to mean?"

"Okay," Isabel spread her hands, "normally I would totally agree with you. It's **not** a good idea for us to get involved with humans. But the point is, you already **got** involved with her. You let **her** get attached, and now you're acting like a jerk."

Michael got indignant. "I am not acting like a jerk!" 

"Oh please," Isabel retorted, "you **so** are." Max and Tess shared a grin over the table as Isabel took up the banner and paraded it all over Michael's puny defense. "This is someone you fell for…went out with, and got close to. But the second she got **too** close, and became inconvenient to you, you dropped her like a hot potato. Now you hardly even talk to her, even when she's obviously trying to go out of her way to be nice to you."

"Well, who the hell asked her to be all nice to me? Why doesn't she get it through her head, already?"

As Michael tried to defend himself, Max chuckled a bit to himself. If there was anyone who could get the best of Michael, it was Isabel. And it was true…Michael's on-again, off-again relationship with Maria wasn't really fair to her. She obviously cared about him, but it seemed as if he couldn't make up his mind to whether or not he **wanted** anyone to care about him. Max knew that it was really Michael's fear to trust…a fear they all four shared. Michael merely felt it the most strongly…due largely in part to the different life he'd had in comparison to Max and Isabel. After emerging from the pods, Michael had gotten separated from Max and Isabel, and spent three years on his own before finding them again. And while Max and Isabel had been adopted by a loving family, the Evan's, Michael had bounced from foster home to foster home, each one worse than the last. It only made sense that he would be the most fearful of letting anyone get close to him. To Michael, the closer you let someone get to you, the more chances you give them to hurt you. _Which,_ Max thought as his gaze came to rest on the girl working the register at the counter, _isn't really all that far from the truth._

Case in point…Liz Parker. The only girl he'd ever loved…and let into his heart. Other than Isabel and Michael, she was the only person in the world that he'd ever trusted with his life…with their secret. And in that area, she'd never let him down. His heart, however, knew the pain of a trust betrayed. Liz set several white-handled bags down on the counter in front of an elderly customer and rang his bill up on the register. It was almost closing time at the Crashdown on a Thursday night, and the man was the last customer in the diner other than the four aliens sharing a booth by the window. Max tried not to watch Liz too obviously as she absentmindedly pushed a stray lock of dark hair back behind her ear, and he remembered all too well how silky her hair had felt beneath his fingers when he'd done the very same thing once. But that seemed like lifetimes ago. Years since he was that young…that naïve.

At the sudden downward turn of his mood, Max tried to re-focus himself. He looked over at the blonde across from him, and reflected on the destiny they were supposed to have fulfilled together. As strange as it still sounded to him, in another lifetime she had been his bride. Somewhere, somehow…in another time and place that he couldn't remember. 

Tess, involved in the banter between Isabel and Michael, glanced over at Max and smiled at him briefly before turning her attention back to them. Max smiled back. Tess had never hurt him. True, she had caused an upheaval just by **arriving** in Roswell…they'd originally not known a fourth alien existed. And learning about their past lives, and their past relationship, had at one point driven a wedge between him and Liz. But he had to admit that through everything, Tess had never been less than supportive of him, and proven herself to be a friend and someone he could trust. _Which appears,_ he thought wryly, _to be a big deal to me right now._

As he looked at her, Max admitted to himself that Tess was beautiful. But he knew in his heart that he didn't love her. Maybe, someday, if he ever remembered that other life, he could come to…but not now. He did, after all, know what love **really** felt like.

The thought made him look at Liz again, and he couldn't stop the flutter in his stomach when he did. With annoyance and no small amount of pain, he tried to squash his physical reaction to her. It bothered him that he had so little control over his emotions…that even after what she'd done, he couldn't stop his feelings for her. It certainly wasn't public knowledge…and it wasn't exactly as if anything was ever going to come of it but pain…but the truth of it was that Max Evans was still in love with Liz Parker. 

Max sighed. It was crazy, he knew it. But he couldn't stop it. Even after everything, he couldn't stop thinking about her. 

_It's because I can't let go,_ he thought. _I can't forget how **real** it was….how **deep**_. And it had been. Kissing Liz was amazing. Not only because she was beautiful, and everything he'd ever wanted in a woman, but because he could feel how she felt about **him**. Even now, Max could remember how wondrous it was to touch her and realize that the feelings of love and desire he sensed were **her** feelings for **him**. And that was one of the reasons this whole situation was so difficult…because he didn't understand. He **knew** she'd loved him. He didn't understand how in one moment, everything he felt…**knew** about her, could be proven wrong…by finding her in bed with her ex boyfriend, Kyle Valenti. He'd been coming to see her, to try to convince her in his sincerity that he loved her. **Her**, and no one else. That he didn't give a damn about Tess or his 'destiny', or what he was _supposed_ to do, and that he would do whatever it took to prove it to her. And he'd climbed up to her patio and seen them there, in her bed, though the window.

It had hurt. It had hurt more than anything he'd ever imagined anything could hurt. In that one moment, everything changed. His world had come crashing down around him, and the one thing he'd always thought he could hold onto was ripped away from him. The pain had been excruciating. 

And it didn't even make any sense. Especially considering that Tess had been telling them only tonight how it seemed like Kyle was interested in **her**. And there was no indication whatsoever that Liz and Kyle were going out….so why? Why did she do it? A part of him, deep inside, thought that he knew. The 'destiny' that had been revealed to the aliens had affected Liz deeply…for there was no room for her in it. Max had a purpose, and what place did she have in his life when worlds hung in the balance? She felt that she couldn't stand in the way of what he was meant to do. But why would that drive her to sleep with Kyle? Had she done it so he would shun her? So she'd have no choice but to move on? Still, he couldn't understand the drastic measures. What could push her so far? What could possibly have made her go to such extremes that she would be willing to devastate him so completely? 

Deep in his heart…in his most private thoughts, Max held out the dim hope that all of this wasn't what it seemed. He tried not to let himself think that way…she'd made it perfectly clear to him that they were over, and there was no chance of ever going back…but he couldn't stop from hoping that it was all a ruse. That she hadn't really done it, hadn't really slept with Kyle. In his heart, he believed that **this** scenario was more like Liz…to try to help him accept his destiny by making him get over her…but he couldn't dare to believe it completely. How could he, when the very tension between them now underscored all that had happened?

Afterward, all he'd wanted to do was to shut himself off completely from everything. Just….never allow himself to care and consequently get hurt again. But he found that he couldn't…because he still cared about **her**. He'd expected it to just, go away after having been hurt so deeply, but it hadn't. He still cared. Nor had he expected to ever be able to come to trust her again, but he did. She'd proven that by saving his life when he'd gone to the summit in New York with Michael and Isabel's duplicates, Rath and Lonnie. They'd tried to kill him, as they'd killed Max's **own** duplicate, Zan, but Liz was able to combine her will with Isabel's powers and appear to Max and warn him of their treachery just in time. It proved that, despite the distance he **wanted** to feel, he could still trust her with his life. And afterward, he'd found himself allowing her back into his heart a little, as a friend. 

And it felt good, in a way…having her back in his life again. But it hurt, too. Because he couldn't forget that night in the desert, after he'd escaped from the White Room. He couldn't forget the way they'd held each other, and finally confessed how much they meant to each other. He couldn't forget the way things had been.

And he wanted to forget…he **had** to forget if he was going to stay sane. Max flinched with the effort of self control, and tried very hard **not** to watch Liz.

Maria made her way over to the booth, balancing a tray in one hand, and the checkbook in the other. "You guys ready for the check?" she asked. 

"Yes, please," Isabel said, picking up her purse.

Maria hesitated, then smiled. "Eh, take off. It's on the house." Her smile froze, however, when Michael flippantly held out a large bill.

"Take it elsewhere," he said, and didn't even look at her. The others grew still, as they could see that Maria was battling herself to not snap out a retort that would take Michael's head off. Taking a deep breath, she snatched the money from his hand and stalked off to the register. In the back of Max's mind, he heard Maria's voice from another time. _None of us belong with any of you…_

As Isabel hurried up to the counter to get change, Tess excused herself to go to the restroom. "Go ahead, you guys," she said…grabbing her own purse and walking toward the back of the diner. "I'll catch up with you later."

Michael drew Max aside as they put on their jackets. "All right Maxwell, let's get out of here before she bores a hole through my head with her evil, death-ray eyes, okay?"

Max glanced over at Maria, who was indeed glaring daggers at Michael, and stifled a laugh. "You go ahead," he said, "I'll wait for Tess." Max watched as Michael quickly bustled Isabel out of the diner. A moment later Maria stormed by him like a whirlwind, angrily pulling her jacket on and heading for the door, and Max belatedly realized his mistake. Max was left alone. With Tess in the bathroom, and Liz in the back room. _Bad,_ he thought…_bad **bad** idea…_ In mere seconds he decided the best thing to do was just leave…Tess had said she'd catch up to them later, after all. And he'd be able to leave before Liz even came out and saw him... 

He'd gone two strides before the jingle of keys behind him caught his attention, and he turned around to see Liz heading out from the back of the diner with her jacket on. Curiosity got the better of him. "Not closing up tonight?" he asked.

"Oh, I am," Liz said as she shut off the breakers, "but I've got plans, so I'll just finish up later."

Max tried not to let his expression reveal his dismay. "Oh plans," he said neutrally. _with Kyle?_, his mind finished for him. He couldn't seem to stop himself from drawing the pain out. Even though they didn't act like they were together after…that night…Max still couldn't quell the jealousy and hurt that arose in him when he thought of Kyle with Liz.

"Yeah," Liz replied, perfunctorily wiping off the counter, "I'm supposed to be helping Alex study for our chem test next week."

"Ah," Max said, trying to hide his relief. "The Chem test." He stood there for a moment longer, unwilling to acknowledge the tension between them. True, they'd begun to be friends again…but he just couldn't find his balance around her anymore. They obviously couldn't be together, but it was too hard to be around her and try not to remember how happy he was when they **were** together. He started backing toward the door again…intent only on leaving before he did something stupid. _Like breaking down and asking her again why she slept with Kyle when she loved me. Like begging her to come back to me. Like kissing….okay, that's enough of that. Leaving…I am **leaving**!_ "Okay then, I guess I'm gonna take off. I'll see you in school tomorrow."

"Sure, okay." Liz said nonchalantly, and was careful to keep her head down until after she'd heard the bell jingle at the top of the door. She looked up sadly at the closing door, and waited for a moment before she headed to it herself. _God, this is never going to get any easier. _she thought. _Why can't I just let him go?_

Liz opened the door and saw Max walking across the street to his jeep, parked on the other side. And then she saw the car accelerating…..on a collision course with Max.

"Max, look out!" she screamed.

   [1]: http://www.geocities.com/sils_sanctuary/roswell/backstory.htm



	2. pt2

"Max, look out

"Max, look out!" she screamed. 

Max Evans had barely registered the warning…or the headlights of the car rushing at him, before he was knocked out of the way by a small, dark blur. Max went flying and didn't see the collision, but he heard the sickening thud, and a voice – one he'd only just recognized – crying out in pain. He landed on the pavement and rolled, coming up in time to see the car's taillights speeding off into the distance. He looked over and saw her lying there, in a crumpled heap in the middle of the road between him and the Crashdown, and his heart seized. "Liz," he breathed. 

He started toward her, but was distracted by another car racing up the street coming from the same direction the first car had come. In moments only, the car would be upon Liz. Sprinting to her fallen form, Max hooked his arms under her and lifted her from the ground, running out of the way of the second speeding car just in time. He watched it speed off in the direction the other car had taken, and then looked down at Liz. It wasn't good. She was semi-conscious, and obviously in pain. _Hospital,_ he thought, _I have to get her to the hospital…_ But was as if he could sense her injuries through their contact….and he didn't think he would have the time to get her there alive. Crossing the street back to the Crashdown, Max kicked the door in ahead of him. He carried Liz in, barely noting the door swinging back to close behind him. Max laid Liz down on the counter and ripped off her jacket. Just before he put his hands on her skin, Liz's eyes fluttered and she saw him. Alarm mingled with the pain on her face, as she cried "No, Max!" She flinched away from him, and Max looked at her, surprised.

"What are you doing?" he asked, "You're hurt."

"You can't," she said, coughing. Liz's arm hurt terribly; she thought it might be broken. Worse, though, was the feeling she had of drowning. It was getting harder to breathe, and she was afraid there was blood in her lungs. Something was seriously wrong with her. She felt...broken. But she knew she couldn't let him touch her. If he healed her again, they'd flash, and he might see the truth. The truth about her and Kyle, and about the future. He reached for her again, and she pulled away as much as she could. "Don't touch me," she pleaded.

Max almost stopped. Almost. He'd never heard such fear in her voice before. After everything, his first instinct was still to trust her. _But she'll die if I don't!_ he thought. _I have no choice…_. Reaching out again, and trying to ignore her desperate attempts to stop him, he placed his palm on her chest, above the neckline of her uniform, and over her heart; his gaze locking with hers.

**_~Flash~_**

…Max saw himself…older and grimmer, peering in through the window in Liz's room…

…that other Max's face…pained, but urgent, saying to Liz "I need you to help me…fall out of love with you."

**_~Flash~_**

…" What's about to happen over the next few days is critical to the history of this planet…things between us are about to change...grow deeper. We become inseparable, and nothing comes between us ever again…" 

"Tess eventually left Roswell…and it turned out she was critical to our survival."

**_~Flash~_**

…watched through Liz's eyes as she looked from the older Max standing next to her in the Congresswoman's office, to across the street where he himself was sitting down across from Tess.

…saw Liz, crying on her patio at having had to hurt him…

**_~Flash~_**

…Liz sliding under the covers of her bed next to Kyle…clad in a towel…

…his own face, looking back at her in horrified realization as he leapt to the conclusion she'd needed him to……

**_~Flash~_**

… "we eloped…we were nineteen." ……

… " Don't you realize what you are to me...and you're always gonna be? You're the love of my life. Everyone else is gonna be second best. There'll never be another you…"

**_~Flash~_**

Breathing heavily, Max broke contact…falling backward and knocking into a chair, sending it falling to the floor. The harsh sound ended in an abrupt silence, and his eyes were wide with shock. Chest heaving with each ragged breath, he grappled for a moment with what he had seen and felt. He couldn't take his eyes off Liz – who's own eyes were large and round with fear. 

She had sat up in a reflexive action as he'd backed away from her, stunned, and their eyes met. She saw the sudden knowledge and pain in his, and realized. _He knows! _Suddenly a dam broke within her…the wall of lies that she had been hiding behind had come crumbling down, and something inside her cried in relief, even as another part of her died. Unable to look at him, Liz's gaze dropped to her arm, which was fine now. In fact, **she** was fine now, the physical pain in her chest was gone, and she could breathe again. But suddenly…everything else hurt so much more.

Max still stared at Liz, who was looking everywhere but at him. He thought it looked like she might be crying, but he couldn't tell. Concern for her managed to break him out of the temporary shock he'd been in, and he was finally able to speak. "Liz," he started, but his voice broke and he had to clear it and try again. "Liz…..look at me." Liz didn't move; kept her head down with her long hair obscuring her face. Max stepped forward and grabbed her arms, forcing her to look at him. Indeed, her eyes were filled with tears. It was true then. Anguish filled him as he let go of her, stumbling back. The truth hit him like a ton of bricks…she hadn't slept with Kyle. For a moment everything else…the pain of knowing what would happen if they were ever together…even the future that they would have had together - lost now…all of it melted away as he realized that fundamental truth. She **did** love him, and hadn't slept with Kyle. The realization left him weak with relief. After a moment spent trying to control himself, he asked "Why didn't you tell me?" 

Liz looked up at him, tears running down her face freely, and he remembered the rest of it. "You were never supposed to know," she whispered. "That's what you…..he…said. You couldn't know." 

Silently, she pushed herself off the counter, but didn't move forward from it. She stood with her back to the bar, looking at the ground again. "The way things happened…it was the way it had to be. I've ruined that, now…" her voice trailed off as fresh tears built up in her eyes. 

"No," Max interjected angrily. "It was wrong of him…wrong of **me **to do that to you. What happens to me…what happens to my people…it's not your responsibility! He should have come to me." 

"He couldn't," Liz said. "He said there was a reason why he couldn't come to you. Something about the same person occupying the same space….a reaction. He said he came to me because I was the one he trusted." 

Max looked at her silently. He believed her. He **did** trust her. And through her memories, he could see himself saying it. Though he thought he knew the **real **reason he couldn't come back to himself to change the future….how do you convince yourself not to love the woman you've spent the last twelve years married to? How do you tell yourself not to love someone, when **you yourself** love her? Max looked again at Liz, in awe of what she had done…for him. For everyone. Even as part of him dreaded the future that he now knew was a reality if he and Liz were together, he was still relieved that she hadn't slept with Kyle. Somewhere in his heart of hearts, he'd believed that she would never betray him like that…and now he was proven right. He was moved, and humbled, and suddenly desperate as he realized that it didn't make any difference. That even though he knew the truth now…this was the way things had to be. He knew it, but he couldn't accept it. He still loved her. No…there had to be a way…had to be something they could do to change things. He opened his mouth, wanting to tell her everything he was feeling, and didn't know where to start. "Liz…"

"Oh God," Liz breathed as the ramifications hit her fully, "I've ruined everything. Everything that you came back for….everything I did. All that pain…for nothing." 

"No," Max said…desperate. "Don't you see? Somewhere inside of me I knew you hadn't….that you wouldn't do that to me. I still...love doesn't just go away, Liz." He took a long, shaky breath. "I've always loved you…I always will." 

"No, Max!" she cried. "Don't you see you can't?! You've seen through my eyes! You know the future!" 

Max stepped forward and brought his hand to her face…caressing her cheek lightly, reverently with his fingertips. "My future is with you," he said. 

Liz just looked up at him…her expression agonized. "Your **destiny** is with Tess." 

Max stepped back, stunned. "Tess isn't you," he said in a low voice. Repeating what he'd said to her in the Congresswoman's office, and meaning it just as much. "Tess could never be you." Liz just looked at him, her expression reading defeat…and worse yet, apathy. It said to him: _There's nothing we can do. No matter what we want, no matter what we do, we can never be together_. 

In a sudden fit of anger and despair, Max hurled over the table he was standing next to…sending the chairs around it flying, making a racket. Liz started involuntarily at the noise, and he closed his eyes and clenched his fists, trying to control himself. This just wasn't fair! His eyes snapped open. "It's not our fault," he said. "Everything that happens in that future happens because **Tess** left. It's her leaving that weakens us…her loss that leaves us unprepared when the time comes." 

"It doesn't matter," Liz said. "None of that matters. How can we even argue semantics when there are lives at stake? Isabel and Michael's lives? **Thousands** of innocent people?" 

Max met her eyes…angry at the truth of what she was saying, even as he knew she was right. It didn't make it any less painful, however. "So you can just do it?" he asked bitterly. "You can just stand there and watch me grow closer to Tess? Watch me fulfill my **destiny**, and not care? Just stand by and not feel **anything**?" 

Liz's face fell, and her eyes welled up with tears again. "That's not fair," she almost whispered. "You know how I feel….you **know **it." 

Max immediately wished he could take the words back. Without thinking, he moved forward and took her in his arms. She resisted a little at first, but then allowed herself to be held by him. _How can so much pain and death come out of something that feels so right?_ he wondered. As she sobbed into his jacket, he lightly ran his hand down her hair. He felt tears in his own eyes as he realized that she was right. No matter what they wanted, the ending had to be the same. Melancholy settled over him as she pulled back to look at him. Touching her face, he said tenderly, "How can I lose you again? How am I supposed to live without you now that I know how happy we would have been? How can I give up…my wife?" 

Liz closed her eyes and held his hand to her face. "Oh God, Max, that's why you were never supposed to know…" She opened her eyes again only to be drawn into his gaze helplessly. Slowly, almost of their own volition, her hands encircled his neck as he dipped his head down to meet her and they kissed. He held her gently to him, and she threw her whole heart and soul into the deep bond between them, feeling his pain and yearning matching hers, before breaking away. 

Max felt like his soul was ripping in two as she tore out of his embrace, and he wasn't even aware of the tears on his own face as he met her gaze. He tried to say her name but couldn't, as she continued to back away from him. Bursting into sobs, she turned and ran through the door to the Crashdown, and out into the night. Max stood there alone, his emotions swirling around him in a savage maelstrom. Slowly, almost unaware of his own surroundings, he too left through the door…a man in love without a shred of hope. 

In the silence that was left, a form gradually emerged from the nothing. Tess stood alone in the Crashdown, having remained invisible by use of her powers all throughout the scene between Max and Liz. She walked over to the counter where Liz's jacket still lay, picking it up thoughtfully. As much as Liz's presence in Max's life had previously angered Tess, she couldn't help but be moved by what she had just seen…the hopelessness in their eyes. _They really love each other…_ she thought. And then… _I cause people to die? Isabel and Michael?_ Tess walked out of the Crashdown, carrying Liz's jacket, deep in thought. 


	3. pt3

Liz couldn't sleep

Liz couldn't sleep. For hours that night she had been able only to lie in bed staring at the ceiling. Staring up at nothing, burdened by her thoughts. She'd almost died that night….again. And again Max had brought her back from the brink; snatched her again from the jaws of death. Liz could feel his handprint burning silver on her chest, healing her still. For the second time, Liz owed Max Evans her life. And how had she repaid him? By letting him know the one thing he should never have _had_ to know.

From the moment Max had healed her in the Crashdown almost two years ago, Liz's life had been drastically changed. First there had been the shock of not dying from the fatal gun shot that would have killed her. Then there was the knowledge that Max and Isabel and Michael weren't even of this planet. And then there was the bond between Liz and Max…undeniable, even when they had resigned themselves to only being friends. Every time he looked at her she felt….more alive. Every time he touched her, trails of fire followed his fingertips across her skin. And when they kissed…._flash_….they could see into each other's soul. Liz had never felt closer to – or more in love with – anyone than she did Max. But all that changed last year. It all changed when Tess came to Roswell. Turned out, there were **four** aliens, and that Max was destined to be with Tess...not Liz. Max had had to admit the attraction he felt toward Tess…it had practically been programmed into him by his race. See the thing was, Max and the others weren't exactly who they thought they were. In truth, they had lived out their lives on their own planet. Max as King, Tess as Max's wife, Michael as Max's second-in-command, and married to Isabel. Liz still thought that **that** pairing was rather ludicrous. She wasn't exactly sure what had happened, but somewhere along the line Isabel – except that her name was Vilandra in that other life – had betrayed her brother and husband, and there was a war. In the fighting, the 'royal four' were killed. To save some sort of hope for the future, genetically engineered clones of the four were designed, and sent to Earth for safekeeping. Two sets of each person. One set ended up in New York, and had just recently suffered the loss of Zan, Max's duplicate…killed by Isabel and Michael's duplicates, Lonnie and Rath. The other set grew up in Roswell, New Mexico…knowing almost nothing about who they were or why they were there. When Tess had arrived, they began finding answers to their many questions: Including the fact that they all had a much higher purpose than going to high school and falling in love with humans. For indeed, that was what they had done. Maria had fallen for Michael…who returned her feelings, much to his own chagrin. Liz's friend Alex had likewise come to truly care for Isabel, though he'd had even less luck connecting to her than Maria had had to Michael. Isabel wanted and craved a real relationship with the people around her, but was just as afraid to let anyone in as the rest of the aliens. Max and Liz, however, had discovered a deep bond between them….starting the day he had saved her life, and growing into a meaningful love that seemed to transcend everything else. But then everything had fallen apart. Tess had come, and Max was unable to fight the genetics that had been engineered into all four of them to bring them together . He very quickly shunned the idea of a destiny that was not his own to decide, however, and refused to be with Tess. He still loved Liz. 

This is where everything went hopelessly wrong. 

What might be the one possible thing that could convince you to stay away from the person you love? How about that person coming back from 14 years in the future to tell you that everyone you know will die….life as you know it will cease to exist, if you stay with him? Using the granilith, Max had been able to come back to try to change his past. In the original timeline, he'd said, he and Liz had gotten married at nineteen, and remained inseparable from that moment on. But Tess had felt there was no longer a place for her with her fellows because of this, and had eventually left. Her loss had a devastating effect. Without her, the remaining three were not as strong as they could have been, and were unable to stop the havoc that befell the earth in that future. Future Max's goal was clear…..make his younger self fall out of love with Liz before it was too late. Unfortunately, changing young Max's feelings proved to be a difficult thing, and Liz was able to succeed only by leading him to believe that she and Kyle had slept together. Whether it truly made him stop loving her or not, it **did** alter the original course of events, so that the Max from the future never was. And that's where it had lain…Liz doomed to carry the secret that they _were_ right for each other, but could still never be. 

Until tonight, that is. Tonight, when she'd walked out of the Crashdown and seen that car speeding toward Max. She hadn't had time to think of the consequences of her actions….she only saw that he was about to be hit. By healing her again, Max had reawakened the bond between them….saw what she saw…knew what she knew. Now he knew the truth, and shared her burden. 

Liz felt horrible….the one really important charge Max had left her with, and she'd betrayed his trust. The pain went even deeper, however. It had been hard enough to know she couldn't be with him before, but at least then she'd had a small degree of comfort in knowing that she was doing the right thing….saving lives, and protecting Max. Now, they still couldn't be together, but on top of it she had failed to protect him from the knowledge of a future that they would have lived side by side in. Worst of all was the hope that had blossomed in her heart again. Despite knowing what would happen if they ended up together, Liz still hoped somewhere in her heart that now that Max knew the truth, there might be hope for them. She felt relieved at not having to lie anymore, and that Max knew now that she wouldn't have ever hurt him if she'd had any choice whatsoever, and thought that this was perhaps the deepest betrayal of all. 

Liz sighed deeply, looking at her clock. It would be time to get up soon, and go to school. Just as Liz resigned herself to another hour or so of restless wakefulness, she heard a sound on her balcony. Her heart leapt into her throat, "Max?" she called out hopefully. 

More scrabbling from the balcony, and a pale face peered in her window. A _familiar_ pale face…pierced and framed by chin-length purple hair. "It's Ava," said Tess's duplicate. "I'm in trouble; I need your help." 

~*~*~*~*~

The sun shone brightly in through the windows of the science room, and Michael started to shut the blinds as Max closed the door behind them. The reason Liz had called this emergency meeting was clear…..Ava sat flightily on the edge of a desk, fidgeting. She watched the others warily, and with sidelong glances…looking as if she might bolt at any moment. The others, Tess, Isabel, and Max, stood across from her. Finishing with the blinds, Michael joined them, glancing over at Maria and Liz, who stood apart, seeming to be trying to separate themselves from the aliens. Michael's glance lingered on Maria for a moment before he pursed his lips and returned his attention to Ava. 

"So what's going on?" Max asked after several moments of silence. Ava fidgeted some more, then seemed to gather herself and looked up to meet Max's gaze head on. "We're all in danger," she said. 

From Max's left, Isabel spoke up. "What do you mean?" 

Ava rolled her eyes, sighing hugely. "I already went over all this with Liz." 

"And now you can go over it with us," Max said. 

After a moment spent gathering her wits, Ava started. "A couple weeks ago I overheard Lonnie and Rath talking about the granilith. About how they knew you had it, and how stupid you were not to give it up at the summit. I didn't think too much of it….the summit was over, the deal was done, ya know? End of story. Except it wasn't. Three days ago Rath tried to kill me. He'd been going on about how it was all my fault they were stuck here. He said that Lonnie had remembered about the granilith….that there was a way she could use it to get them home." 

The amazement on the faces of everyone in the room was not lost on Ava, and she continued before anyone could speak. "I don't know how," she said flatly. "Just that it would take four of us….no more, and definitely no less. It has to be four, and at least two of the four have to be from Roswell." 

"Why?" Tess asked. 

"I don't know," Ava said honestly. "Maybe something to do with the equalization of powers, or safeguards in the granilith itself….I don't know. I **do** know that Max has to be one of the two." She looked directly at Max, who was startled. "You're the key. So she won't be trying to kill you." Ava looked at Tess next. "You either, I guess. They want me dead, so I guess that means you have to live." 

Michael cut in harshly. "So Isabel and me are out too, right? Is that how it works?" 

Ava nodded. "One of each person, yeah. That's how it has to be." She spoke again to Max. "They plan on using you to get home, and killing everyone else. Lonnie thought that it was poetic justice, or something. Betraying you just like Vilandra did. Letting everyone you care about die. I…I managed to get away from Rath, and stole a car. But they followed me. They were right behind me when I burned through town last night." 

Tess immediately made the connection and spoke without even thinking it through first. "That was you?! You hit Liz….you almost killed Max!" 

Startled, Ava turned to Liz, her voice faltering. "That was you? I'm sorry….but how….how did you…?"

Liz studied the floor before her…very obviously **not** looking at Max, and everyone heard Ava's unspoken word – "survive" - as they saw the truth on **his** face. 

Suddenly, what Liz had just heard occurred to her, and she looked up at Tess. "Wait, how did you know? You weren't there." Tess didn't even glance at Liz, but continued to stare at Ava. "How do we know you're telling the truth?" she demanded of her double. "How do we know you weren't trying to kill Max last night?" 

"Why would I try to kill him?" Ava shot back in Tess's own voice. "Why would I do that when I **just** told you he's necessary to make the granilith work?" 

"We don't know how true **that** is, either!" Tess said acidly. The two women stared each other down, their eyes flashing identical anger. They had even both adopted the same aggressive stance. If it weren't for Ava's outlandish hair and piercings, it would have been impossible to tell them apart. 

"Look," Ava said, backing down, "I don't wanna kill anybody. I came here to **warn** you. To **keep** people from dying." 

Maria spoke for the first time, "Yeah, you're a real bleeding heart. It must have taken lots of courage to make your way here to warn them….and then leave a wounded person lying in the road bleeding after you ran her over." 

"I didn't mean to!" Ava started again, but was interrupted when Max cut in. 

"It doesn't matter. Whether this is the truth or not, whether Lonnie and Rath are here or not, we've gotta take steps." 

Suddenly the bell rang, and everyone became aware of the voices and sounds of slamming lockers out in the hallway. "We've got to get to class," Max said. "Act as if everything's normal. We'll meet again after school. Until then, keep your eyes peeled." 

With that, everyone started filing out of the room…Max and Liz being the last two to exit. As they approached the door together, Max lost his breath when she looked up at him. As he'd neared her he had willed her to not look at him. Because he'd known that he'd become locked in her gaze. Would drown in the luminous brown eyes that looked up at him now. Looked** into** him. If anything, he loved her more now than he ever had….though he'd never thought it possible that his feelings could grow stronger. All of the emotions that he had tried so hard to will away had come flooding back the instant he'd touched her last night. Hell, who was he kidding…they'd never really gone away. He'd been hurt…but he hadn't loved her any less. But the cost of learning the truth of her loyalty to him was bittersweet. Because now he knew just how much they really **couldn't** be together. Max wasn't sure what was worse…thinking that he had lost Liz's love to Kyle, or knowing that he could never have her **despite** the love he now knew she still felt for him. 

_How will I ever get through this?_ he thought. He tried to keep his voice even as he spoke her name in inquiry. "Liz?" 

Liz took a deep breath and strove for calm when she spoke. "The granilith, Max." she said. "You know what I know, now. What you…he told me. It's important; it's powerful, and dangerous. And we can't let them have it." 

"I know," Max said, trying to reassure her. "Don't worry; we'll stop them." They gazed at each other a moment longer, both of them wanting to say so much more, but knowing they couldn't. Finally Liz started to back away slowly, making as if to turn and walk out of the room. She stumbled a bit, and Max reached out a hand to steady her…touching her arm. 

**_~FLASH~_**

…and they were assaulted with images and sounds…almost too fast to comprehend. Flashing lights, music, Max, Liz, kissing…on their wedding day…happy and laughing….

….Michael, screaming…dying. An explosion of glass and debris...Isabel holding a gun, crying and full of rage as her finger trembled above the trigger….

…Maria, hurt….Max and Liz in bed, holding each other before morning with agonizing tenderness…

**_~FLASH~_**

This time it was **Liz** who broke away in shock. Eyes wide, her mouth worked, but nothing came out. She looked at Max.

He looked back at her, his face ashen. "I saw it too."


	4. pt4

Students streamed out of the side doors of the school and into the courtyard, joining their fellows on the lawn and at tables for lunch

Students streamed out of the side doors of the school and into the courtyard, joining their fellows on the lawn and at tables for lunch. Maria sat at one such table waiting for Liz, moodily picking at her lunch. She contemplated the people around her and envied them a little for their normal lives. They flowed around her, innocent in their ignorance of the truth. Maria suddenly felt older; like the world was resting on her shoulders.

Sighing hugely, Maria opened her container of yogurt and stirred it despondently. When had everything gone so wrong? Knowing the aliens' secret wasn't so awful at first. It was exciting...new and amazing in its possibilities. And it had brought her and Michael together...

__

Stop, she thought to herself quickly, _just don't think about it. You're over and through...there's nothing there to think about any more. He said so himself._

Once begun, however, Maria couldn't stop herself from remembering how things had been at first. How happy and crazy she'd been to be with Michael. How together everything had seemed. Until everything changed...until Tess came. Yes, **that** was when things had gone wrong. She'd come, and everyone had started _remembering_ things. Like Michael had remembered he was supposed to be with Isabel. And while he and Isabel hadn't gotten together as a result, Michael had called his relationship with Maria to an end, and refused to even talk about any more.

Jerk, she thought, _I'm better off without him anyway..._ And while she knew that this was probably true, it didn't stop her from missing him anyway. Deep down, she knew she still cared for him. Deeper down still, she was pretty sure he still cared about her, too. But he'd been keeping everyone at an emotional distance from him for so long, it was easy for him to fall back into it, and not let her in. Even so, and even though she'd never admit it to anyone, Maria knew she still loved him. Even **if** he still had crazy hair.

Maria grinned a little to herself, and tried to stifle it as she looked up at the sound of footsteps approaching her. The smile she'd had for Liz quickly died, however, when she saw that it was Tess who sat at the table next to her instead. Maria didn't waste any time on small talk. "What do **you** want?"

Tess sat back in the chair and folded her arms in a physical reaction to ward off Maria's acid tone. Deciding that the best defense was a good offense, she matched Maria's demeanor and shot back "I want to talk to you about the truth."

Maria was caught off guard for a moment, but recovered quickly. "You wanna talk the truth? Okay, why don't we start with how you knew Liz got hit last night? Max and I were the only ones who knew."

Tess replied bitterly. "Yeah, you and Max are the only ones who know about a lot of things, aren't you? At Maria's slightly confused look, Tess relented a bit. "I was there...last night, at the Crashdown. I saw Max heal Liz. I heard them talking about the future." She stopped and looked up from the table to meet Maria's eyes to gauge her reaction. The human was surprised, but didn't look angry, so that was good. She went on, more sedately. "I want to know what happened. I **need** to know what's going to happen if I leave."

Maria spoke just as quietly, conscious of the students teeming around them. "I really think that's something you should talk to Liz and Max about."

"Normally, I'd agree with you. But I don't really think either one of them wants to talk to me right now." Tess said.

Maria arched an eyebrow. "But you thought for some reason that **I** would want to talk to you?"

Tess blew out her breath in exasperation. "Look, I know I'm not your favorite person in the world. But this isn't about you and me, and how much you don't like me. People might be in danger. I need to know what's going on."

Maria had to acknowledge the truth in what Tess was saying. And while she really and truly felt for Liz and Max's predicament, she also thought that Tess deserved to know what could happen because of her decisions. Aware that Liz was supposed to be joining her soon, Maria told Tess the gist of what Liz had learned from Future Max as quickly as she could. By her lack of surprise, Maria estimated that Tess had been telling the truth when she said she'd been present at the Crashdown the night before. Her expression registered no surprise, only confirmation of what she already seemed to know. Her eyes flashed a bit, however, when Maria got to the part where Liz and Max got married in that other future. Were married and were happy. Inseparable. When it was over, Tess reflected silently, and Maria actually felt a bit of sympathy for her. _It must not be easy to learn that the guy you're destined to be with is in love with someone else...that he could be married to her for twelve years and still be deliriously in love with her,_ she thought. Tentatively, she spoke. "Are....are you okay?"

Tess looked startled by the question, and hesitated before answering. "It's a little odd," she admitted. "knowing that people could die because of me. Because of a decision I make. And..." Tess cast about, trying to find a way to explain what she felt. "It's really weird...all of this. It's like, I had this whole thing built up in my head. The way things were going to be. The way they **had** been...in that other life. Then all the sudden everything's different, you know? All of the sudden everything I'd counted on as being true and right...is not necessarily so set in stone. I mean, Max and I are **destined** for one another. But somehow...he and Liz..." She trailed off as she realized the enormity and truth of what she was saying. "Somehow what they have is real."

Seeing Tess's inability to verbalize her thoughts, Maria said "I think I understand. This...all of this, is hard for everyone."

Tess agreed. "Yeah. It's just...all my life I've accepted that I was destined to be with Max. Finding out suddenly that he wasn't prepared to accept that was a little disconcerting. And...it makes me a little angry. I just...wish things were simple again. I wish Liz had never come into the picture...or I'd gotten here first, or something."

Maria stiffened. While being able to understand Tess's feelings, she was still Liz's friend. And she had to defend her. "None of this is Liz's fault," she said. "She fell in love. **Max** fell in love. That's nobody's fault."

Tess realized she'd overstepped the lines of the fragile truce between them. Even though she knew the best thing to do was retreat, there was something inside her that really **was** angry with Liz for disrupting the future that Tess had thought was so certain. Her anger took her where she probably shouldn't go, and her tone was slightly frosty when she replied. "Oh no...nobody's fault that they've changed the way everything was supposed to be. This...this **crush** is nothing compared to what Max and I had. What we are still **destined** to have. They've altered the whole plan."

Maria shot back. "See, that's where your problem is. You've got this whole bogus idea built up in your head about what destiny and love are supposed to be. Well I've got news for you...love isn't brains. It isn't about going where you're told, and feeling something for one person in particular because you're **supposed** to. Love is about meeting someone one day who totally changes your life. Love is giving that person up if it means saving them. Love is putting **your** life on the line to save the one you care about. Liz has done all that. So don't you sit there and talk to me about how selfish she is."

The two girls stared at each other for a moment in silence, before approaching footsteps broke into the status quo and made them look up. Liz stood there uncertainly, wondering why Maria was talking to Tess. Before she could say anything, though, Tess stood up with a note of finality. "Yeah, well...thanks." she said awkwardly, and walked away.

Liz waited until Tess was out of sight before placing her tray down on the table. Choosing a different chair from the one the blonde had occupied, she sat down next to her friend and looked at Maria with mixed feelings. Maria jumped to explain. "She came to me. She needed to know, Liz. She needed to know what would happen because of her."

Liz sighed. "I understand. I just...I just wish this all didn't have to be so hard." She glanced off at the students streaming around them, and seemed to be picking up on Maria's earlier thoughts. "We had another flash," she said. At Maria's startled look, Liz elaborated. "When we were leaving the science room earlier…we flashed. Except…everything we saw…it wasn't anything that had happened yet."

"So what are you saying," Maria asked. "That you saw the future?"

Liz shrugged. "I don't know…but whatever it was…it didn't look good." She looked at her friend; registered her concerned expression. "Be careful, Maria. I don't know what's going on…but just be careful, okay?" She watched until Maria nodded, bemused, and then bent to her tray. 

As Liz started to pick at her lunch, Maria watched her covertly. Great, they were seeing the future now. What was **up** with these two, anyway? In any case, Tess had been right about one thing. Whatever it was between Max and Liz, it was real. They were truly in love. Being separated was obviously hell on them. _All the more awful for them,_ Maria thought, _because it can never be, now._ Going back to her own lunch, and thinking about her **own** situation, Maria summed it all up in her mind.

This sucks.

~*~*~*~*~

"This sucks!"

Tess paced back and forth within the limited confines of the room she had appropriated from Kyle all those months ago, and struggled to keep her annoyance under control. Kyle sat on the bed silently and watched her…amazed by the sheer energy she was exuding. After school, he'd come home to find her throwing things around in her room, and pacing frantically. It seemed rather rude to just turn around and leave, so he'd taken up residence on the end of the bed, and tried to be as quiet as possible to keep from drawing any negative attention from her. She'd been ranting about everything she'd learned in the past twenty four hours, and now she rounded on Kyle. "Well? Don't you have anything to say?"

Kyle shifted uncomfortably, on the spot. "I've been trying not to say anything, actually." He looked up at her stormy green eyes and squirmed some more. "You know…that whole 'not wanting to get my brains fried' thing."

She stared at him unblinkingly until he finally piped up. "Well, at least now I know what my part in all this was for."

Tess broke her steely gaze, back on the rant-wagon again as she resumed pacing. "It's just…my people have this whole **plan** as to what's supposed to be happening down here, and they're totally ignoring it! They're messing everything up!"

Kyle mustered up a little courage. "But…you don't even know what the plan **is**"

Tess looked at him with a dangerous gleam in her eyes. "What's your point?"?"

"I'm just saying," Kyle said, trying to remain calm, "you guys don't even know why you're here…who sent you or anything…but you seem really set on following every directive you **do** have from them."

Tess sighed, flopping down onto the bed behind him on her back. Kyle turned slightly to face her, and she glanced at him before looking up at the ceiling. "You have to understand," she said. "This is all I've ever had to go on…all I've ever known about myself. And here, where **I'm** supposed to be, is Liz. Right in the middle of everything."

Kyle fiddled with the bedspread as he absorbed that for a moment, and then spoke again. "Okay…well, while I have no real reason to be all happy about Liz and Max either, it **does** seem as if they're trying to do the right thing, here. I mean…they're **not** together. 

"Yeah," Tess said grudgingly…calming down a little. "I know that. It's just…my whole life I've had two things that I knew I could count on. Everything else was a mystery…confusing and scary. But there were two things that I always knew I would be able to fall back on. Nasedo was one, and my destiny with Max was the other. When Nasedo died…it was awful. It was like having my foundation ripped out from underneath me. But at least I still had my destiny, you know? Nobody could take that away from me."

She turned on her side so that she was facing Kyle…propping her head up with an elbow rested on the bed. "Except…someone has. **Liz** has. I know she didn't mean to…and I know she's trying to do the right thing right now. But it's kind of a small consolation for having the only thing I had left taken away from me."

"But that's **not** all you have left," Kyle said, earnest now. "What about the others? Michael and Isabel? You belong with **them** just as much. And it's not just all about them. There's us, too. Me and Dad, and school."

Tess looked at him critically. "What are you saying?"

"I just wonder if you know that there **are** other choices for you, too. I mean, yeah, okay…you've got a destiny. That's really special and everything, but it was given to you by people you don't know, for reasons you don't know, and you're still expected to just follow up on it. My question is, why're you going along with it? I mean, I understand your attatchment to the whole idea, it's a bedtime story you've been told since the day you were hatched." Tess shot him a warning glance, and he hastily rephrased. "Er…since you came out of the pod. But doesn't it bother you that you were basically programmed? That you're being made to feel this way?"

Tess looked back at him evenly…no hint of what she was thinking on her face, and said softly, "I wasn't programmed the first time."

Kyle countered, just as softly. "You don't **remember** the first time." He paused a moment as Tess contemplated that, and then went on. "You're basically running around down here doing what you've been told to do. But what about what you really **want**?"

As Tess gazed back at him and didn't answer, Kyle realized the truth of his own words. "You don't even know, do you?"

The silence after his question was all the answer he needed, as he saw the truth in her eyes. They both heard the front door open, then, and knew that Jim Valenti was home. Tess looked toward the door and sighed. "I guess we'd better get out there and start helping out with dinner, or something. I'd better make nice so I can get around to explaining about Ava."

Kyle stood. "What about Ava?"

"Well," Tess said, as she joined him, "she'll have to come here eventually. She can't stay at Liz's forever. Her parents will only be gone through the end of the weekend."

Kyle grinned a little. "So uh…she looks just like you, right? Like, exactly?"

Tess turned and caught the stupid grin on his face and smirked. "Stop that!" she said jokingly.

"Stop what?"

"What you're thinking. It **so** is not going to happen. You couldn't even handle **me**, much less the both of us."

Kyle paled. "Oh Buddha, you can read my mind?!"

Laughing, Tess smacked at him playfully. "No. But that doesn't mean I don't know what you're thinking!"

As Tess left the room chuckling, Kyle let out a huge breath of relief. 


	5. pt5

"Take the way home, that leads back to Sullivan Street…Cross the water and home through the town

_"Take the way home, that leads back to Sullivan Street…Cross the water and home through the town." _

_"Past the shadows that fall down, wherever we meet. Pretty soon now…I won't come around."_

_"I'm almost drowning in her sea; she's nearly fallen to her knees…"_

Max took a deep breath as the lyrics made their way from the speakers of his stereo into his soul. He shouldn't be listening to Counting Crows, he knew…it always just made him more depressed. 

_"Take the way home that leads back to Sullivan Street…where all the bodies hang on the air."_

_"If she remembers, she hides it whenever we meet. Either way now, I don't really care."_

And boy was **that** not true. Yes, there had been shadows between them; yes she had hidden the truth from him…but **nothing** could make him stop caring. God…if thinking she had slept with Kyle hadn't stopped him from caring about her, it was highly unlikely he'd be able to stop now that he knew the truth. Knew that he'd been right along…they **were** meant for each other. 

As the song droned on, he tried to refocus himself. _I shouldn't be thinking about this,_ he thought, _I need to be thinking about the Lonnie and Rath situation right now._ He knew it was pointless, however. What an awful time for all this to be happening…how could he be as attentive as he needed to be to this problem when he couldn't get Liz, and everything that he'd just learned, out of his mind?

_I just need to stay away from her right now,_ he thought. _It won't make the feelings go away, but I can't afford to be distracted…I can't see her at all until this is over._

Even as he thought it, however, he knew it would be impossible. At the very least, there was school. Seeing her every day in class and not speaking with her would be impossible. Not to mention he knew it would hurt her. It would hurt both of them. And also… Max stopped pacing around his room as the thought struck him…it was if the bond between them had not only been reawakened when he'd healed her again, but had grown even stronger than it had been before. He tried to tell himself it was his imagination...that he only **thought** he felt her so close to him because he **wanted** her to be. Feeling a bit foolish, Max closed his eyes and reached himself out into the void. And felt it again. It was almost as if he could sense her, now. He'd felt it all day at school, and he continued to feel it now. There, on the periphery of his awareness, it was like he could feel her presence…drawing him to her…bringing them together. Like she was right…there.

_Tap tap tap._

Max's eyes flew open to see Liz at his window, standing there self-consciously, waiting for him to let her in. Exhaling a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, he crossed the room and unlatched the window…standing back a little as she climbed in. 

Liz made her way over the windowsill, remembering another time she'd climbed in this very window, tripping and stumbling into Max's arms. How easy it was to remember the feel of his strong arms around her, keeping her steady…not letting her fall. She made very certain to be careful this time around...to end up in Max's arms now would be devastating. It was already hard enough not thinking about how near he was... _Okay stop it!_ she commanded herself. _Just say what you came to say, and get out. And...try not to look at him too much. And **definitely** don't touch him!_

Safely over the windowsill, Liz finally looked up at him and couldn't breathe. He was gazing at her intently, his eyes focused raptly on hers. _I will not melt,_ she told herself firmly, _I will not melt, I will not melt. Just because he's looking at me like that, I..._

"We need to talk," she interjected into her thoughts...breaking the silence between them. "about the flash this morning."

Max nodded slowly. "Yes, I...I don't know what that was. It was hard to see everything, it happened so quickly."

"Yeah. Max…none of that stuff has happened yet." She sat on the edge of his bed, and looked down as she said it, and he knew that they were both thinking of the parts of the flash that involved them...them laughing, them in bed together. Them happy...**together**. 

Max spoke quietly. "Is it...is it maybe from that other future? The one that was prevented?"

Liz looked startled, almost as if the thought hadn't occurred to her, and he went on. "Because, it could have been. I'd said that Michael died in the future...and we were...we were married." He stuttered over the word a little, and Liz didn't shift her stare from the carpet. She felt tears spring to her eyes, and was afraid to look up, lest they spill over and he see. 

"I don't know, Max." she said. "It's possible...but, why would we have a flash from a future that'll never happen now? And plus, Michael looked young. He looked the way he looks now. And Isabel...with a gun. That wasn't part of anything in the future, as it was told to me. And..."

Liz stopped, and Max sensed more. "What?" he asked.

Liz took a deep breath and made herself look up at him. "It **felt** real. Like, it felt like it was now. I don't know how to explain it right...but I have a really bad feeling about it. The part with us...at the end..." she blushed as she said it, but she went on. "The part at the end...we were sad, Max. We were together, and happy together, but we were so sad, too. And in that future...we weren't. It was okay that we were together, and we were happy."

She looked down again, and Max felt a stinging in his own eyes. Her hands folded in her lap, she looked so fragile there sitting on the edge of his bed, and more than anything in the world he just wanted to take her into his arms and hold her forever. Just hold her and forget about all of the rest of this, even if only for a little while. Give her some kind of comfort, and let her know that no matter what else was going on, he still loved her. 

"I think we should tell them," she said to her hands. "Michael and Isabel...and Tess. About the flash. About what might happen." She looked up at him for confirmation, and he nodded. 

"Yeah," he said. "We're supposed to meet tonight at Michael's apartment to talk about this Lonnie and Rath thing...I was going to tell them then."

The room was silent for a beat, and then Liz stood, turning toward the window. "Well okay, I guess I'd better..."

The ringing of the phone interrupted her, and Max picked it up, holding up a hand for Liz to wait a minute. She stopped before the window as he spoke into the phone. "Hello?"

"Max?"

"Michael? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Michael answered. "But I need to meet you. You and Isabel both. I already called Tess."

Max's brow furrowed a little. "We're already meeting tonight at your apartment, remember?"

"No Max, this is important. I know what Lonnie and Rath are up to. But I don't want to talk about it over the phone."

"All right, I'll get Isabel and we'll meet you over there."

"Not here," Michael said. "I don't feel safe here right now. In the quarry...in an hour."

"Okay," Max said, "this is good, because Liz and I need to talk to you guys about something, too."

"Don't bring Liz, Max." Michael said, his voice getting a bit harsh. "This isn't for her...or for any of them. **Our** lives are at stake here...mine and Isabel's. Can we just this once leave the humans out of it?"

Max was a bit taken aback at Michael's biting tone. "All right fine, Michael, whatever. We'll be there in an hour." The dial tone was his response as Michael hung up, and Max slowly replaced the receiver. 

Liz stepped back away from the window. "What's up?"

Max frowned slightly. "Michael...he's upset about something. Says he knows something about what Lonnie and Rath are doing here, though. Needs to meet us."

"Well okay, let's go." Liz said, making as if to head to the door.

"No," Max said, "he just needs us...me and Isabel. And Tess."

"Oh," Liz said, stopped in her tracks. Knowing Michael, she could guess what he'd said. Probably something about how they didn't need their help. They could take care of everything on their own. But this was wrong...something definitely felt... "This is wrong, Max." Liz said. "Something about this feels wrong. You guys were already meeting tonight. Why the rush, now?"

"I don't know," Max said, grabbing his jacket. "but whatever it is, he sounds pretty hyped up."

Liz managed a small smile. "When **isn't** Michael hyped up?" she quipped. Max grinned a little at her, and then stopped as the seriousness sank back in. Liz looked at him. "I think I should go with you."

Max looked back at her, trying to figure out how to say what he knew he must. "I'm not so sure it's a good idea, Liz. I mean...Michael seems pretty set on not having any of you guys there, right now. And also...also maybe it's for the best if you and I..." he trailed off, not even able to vocalize what he was trying to say. Not only because it hurt to think about not being around her, but also because he saw the pain growing in her eyes.

"If you and I didn't see each other," she finished for him. Quietly, he nodded. Liz sighed. "I get that, Max. As much as it hurts, I understand. And you're right, it's probably for the best. But that doesn't mean I don't still care about you...I can't stop myself. And right now I'm really worried. I've got a bad feeling about this, Max. About all of this. I don't think you guys should go alone right now."

Liz's words had more of an effect on Max than he would have cared to admit. Not just the confession of her feelings...but her fear of what was going to happen. Her sense of foreboding was palpable...he could feel it in the room around them. And suddenly, he began to be a little afraid, himself. _Then you definitely can't let her go,_ he thought. _If something's going to happen, keep her as far away from it as you can._ Visibly trying to throw off the cloak of apprehension that had settled around him at her warning, he tried to lighten up the atmosphere. "It'll be okay," he said to her, shrugging his jacket the rest of the way on. "We'll be careful." 

As he turned to walk out of his room, he snarked back over his shoulder at her. "Oh and hey Liz? You can use the front door, you know."

Liz watched him leave the room. _He's just as worried as I am,_ she thought, and then followed him out to the living room.

~*~*~*~*~

Isabel opened the front door and was met with Alex's tentative smile. "Hi Isabel…can I come in?" 

"Alex," she said. She wasn't **dis**pleased to see him, just jumpy about the whole dupe situation in general, and his arrival came at a bad time. Her greeting lacked a certain…warmth to it.

At her lack of expression, Alex's smile faded a little. "Okay," he said quickly, before she had a chance to interject. "I know this is an alien thing…doesn't really concern us…yadda yadda. I get that. I just wanna know if there's anything I can do to help."

The words she'd summoned to tell him to leave died in her throat as she looked at him. He looked so…earnest. So honest. And Isabel knew he was sincere. Not only had he proven himself trustworthy in the past, she was in the unique position of actually **knowing** beyond a doubt how he felt. She remembered her surprise at finding out his feelings for her when she dream-walked into his sleep, and discovered that he genuinely cared about her, and wanted what was best for her. Isabel found herself at a crossroads, she couldn't let him in, but suddenly didn't have the heart to tell him to leave, and she stood there in the doorway…uncertain. 

Alex watched the struggle of the decision cross her face, and even with everything else going on, he couldn't stop himself from noticing her beauty. _You are **totally** hopeless, my man,_ he thought. _It's been forever since you maybe even **thought** you might have had a chance. Why can't you move on?_

As he watched her, he saw her features clear, and that cool, collected mask she normally wore slid back down across her face, and Alex knew she was going to send him away.

Isabel took a breath to thank him and send him on his way, when she was distracted by Max and Liz coming from the direction of Max's room. One of her perfectly lined eyebrows arched in inquiry as she sensed the urgent vibe between them. "What's up?" 

Max palmed the keys to the jeep. "Michael just called…we need to go meet him. Tess is already on her way."

"Let me get my jacket." Isabel said, senses suddenly alert. She turned and headed back into her room. Max eased past Alex and paused in the doorway a moment, slowly turning around to look back at Liz. Their eyes met, and she could tell he could see her concern, and wished that she were coming with them. And right there, in that moment, she made her decision.

_Be careful,_ her eyes said to him. Max nodded and ducked out the door. A moment later they heard the jeep start after he got in. Liz rounded on Alex. "Something's wrong…I've got a bad feeling about all this," she said. "I'm going to follow them."

"I'll come with you," Alex said immediately.

"No, I need you here…someone who knows I'm gone. I need you to call Maria and tell her what's going on, too." As they heard Isabel coming back out of her room, Liz shot out the door, calling back to Alex over her shoulder. "Both of you watch your backs!"

Alex followed her out and watched her from the porch as she got into her car. Isabel breezed by him a moment later, pulling the door shut behind her until she heard the lock click, and then went down to the Jeep, climbing in. She met his eyes once more through the windshield, and Alex thought he read in them a longing…that things were different; that she could allow him into her life. Of maybe it was just his imagination. Maybe that was just what **he** wanted. Max put the jeep in reverse and backed out of the driveway.

The sky was starting to show only the faintest tinge of orange as Max shifted gears and accelerated quickly up the street. Alex watched as the Jeep's taillights lit up briefly at the stop sign at the end of the street, then went dark again as Max turned out onto the road. A moment later, Liz's car made the same turn, shadowing them. Alex pulled out his cell phone.

~*~*~*~*~

Michael pursed his lips in contemplation when he heard the knock on his door. Senses at the ready, he stalked over to the door and peered through the peephole. 

_Son of a bitch,_ he thought in exasperation. _Of course it **would** be her. _Michael stood back and sighed hugely, finally turning the deadbolt so that it unlocked, and opened the door to meet Maria. 

She stood framed in the doorway, looking small and fragile, and for a moment Michael regretted his rudeness….

Until she opened her mouth.

"It's about time!" she said, barging into the apartment without another word. Michael looked up at the ceiling, as if entreating some higher power to help him. _Why me?_

Michael flicked his wrist and shut the door, following Maria a few steps into the apartment. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

Maria turned around and looked at him, her hands on her hips. "We need to get something straight," she said. "about our relationship."

Michael was frustrated. "How many times do I have to tell you, there **is** no relationship?"

Maria got that ingratiating smile on her face that Michael knew so well. It meant that she thought she was onto something, and she wasn't going to let go of it until she'd driven him nuts with it. "Oh no, Michael, you can't fool me forever."

Michael affected to be unaffected. "Fool you about what?"

"About the way you feel about me, naturally. Michael, you don't just **get rid** of someone who's important to you…not if you really care about them."

Michael started to open his mouth, but Maria forestalled him, cutting off his statement with a chop of her hand before he even had a chance to speak. Michael lapsed back into a reluctant silence as she continued. "And **don't** tell me you don't care about me…because as much as you may protest it to the contrary, I know the truth."

She took a step closer to him. "All wit and banter and self-denial removed, I **know** you care about me, Michael. And I care about you. And this…with us, apart. It's not right. I don't like it."

As she stood there looking at him, frank in her honesty, a hint of her perfume wafted to him on the air between them, and he suddenly found it difficult to look away from her. But he did. _Mud,_ he thought…_Mud mud mud mud…_

Maria felt she was getting somewhere. "Stop resisting me Michael, you know I'm right. Give **in.**" Suddenly her brow furrowed as a thought occurred to her. "Did I just say that? God, I sound like Darth Vader."

Michael used her distraction to take a few steps away from her, toward the kitchenette. He knew he needed some anger, here…something to drive a wedge between them. Something to get her mad, so she'd go away. He took a deep breath and turned around to face her, a cocky attitude in his bearing. 

"Maria, what do you want? Look, we've got our own problems right now, and I don't have the time to deal with you."

"I know," Maria shot back, a little hurt by his tone. "I came here to help."

"Well we don't **need** your help," Michael bit out. "We've got it under control." 

"Oh **we** do, do we?" Maria paused, and adopted a new stance…more aggressive. "So what, it's **your** problem and **you'll** deal with it? Don't need any help from the lowly humans?"

Michael stood unmoved. "That's right."

"And while we're at it, why don't you tell me why it always comes down to this? Why it's always you against us. Because you're aliens? Hello?! I mean, who was it who kept you from being arrested for speeding on the way to the geo-dome? Who distracted the searchers so you and Max and Isabel could investigate that sign in the woods? Who helped substitute Alex's blood for Max's so your secret wouldn't be discovered? Who helped do that energy thing with the healing stones in River Dog's tent when you were dying? Us. Around every turn; at every new crisis, we **help** you. Constantly putting ourselves on the line for **you**.

With that last, Maria paused. She looked at Michael, and noted that he seemed to be not at all affected by her words. When she spoke next her voice was much calmer. Quieter…defeated. "And you don't even care, do you? You don't even care that we care about you. Enough to risk **dying** for you. And you couldn't care less. Because we're only **human**. You can't get **attatched**, you can't let anyone in." She took a shaky breath as she came to her own realizations…that maybe she'd been wrong about him all along. The new awareness was in her voice. "Why do I even try?"

In the silence that answered her question, Maria turned slowly and walked to the door. Her hand reached out and was on the doorknob when Michael spoke from behind her. "I don't know…why **do** you?"

She looked back over her shoulder at him. He was still standing by the bar in the kitchen, and his face reflected…nothing. She hunted for some kind of clue that it hurt him to watch her leave, but she found none. Her voice was quiet when she answered. "Like it would make a difference to you if I clued you in." she said, and opened the door…..

...on Isabel. Both girls were in forward motion, and almost collided in the doorway. Isabel finally managed to get past the Maria blockade, and entered the apartment. "What's up?" Michael asked. 

"I need to talk to you," Isabel said, glancing at him meaningfully. "Alone."

Maria straightened. "Okay, okay, I can take a hint when I hear one. Aliens only, no humans allowed, right? Well you guys can take your alien conspiracy and shove it up your… hey. Where's Max?"

Isabel's eyes never left Michael, but Michael looked at Maria in confusion. "What?"

Maria took a step back into the apartment. "Where's Max? Wasn't he with you, Isabel?"

"No," Isabel said. "I dropped him off at home."

Maria was confused. "But…no. You just left home. You and Max were going to both come over here and talk to Michael."

Isabel turned sharply on Maria. "Look, I don't know what you're smoking, but I just came over here on my own. Now go, I need to talk to Michael."

Maria's hackles were up, and she enunciated each word clearly. "No…Alex **just** called me. He said that you and Max were coming here after Michael called."

Warning bells suddenly sounded in Michael's head, and his voice was low but clear as he spoke. "I didn't call."

There was a beat of silence as the implications sunk in, and then Isabel launched herself at Michael. 

Michael barely even knew what was happening…one moment the three of them were standing in a triangle in his living room, and in the next he was lying flat on his back, with Isabel straddled over him delivering some well-rounded punches. He tried to get his arms up to block her, but she was vicious. Mercilessly, she wrapped her hands around his throat and began to squeeze. Michael heard Maria calling his name in alarm from somewhere behind them, but he was already quickly losing his senses. 

Running over to the two figures wrestling on the floor, Maria threw herself on Isabel, yanking her bodily off of Michael. Isabel whirled off and hit the wall with a thud, sinking down to the floor, the breath knocked out of her. Maria bent over Michael, who was choking but okay. She helped him up, and saw where his throat was already turning red from where Isabel's hands had tried to choke the life out of him. They looked over at Isabel, who was slumped on the floor against the wall, her head down.

"Isabel, what….?" Michael started. 

Suddenly her head snapped up, and her gaze locked on them. She got to her feet slowly and deliberately, body language menacing. Michael and Maria watched in belated comprehension as Isabel's image shimmered, and dropped away, revealing the tattoos and punk hair of Lonnie…Isabel's duplicate. Michael shoved Maria away from him, toward the door. "Maria, run!" he shouted. 

Lonnie's arm came up and extended toward Michael. Maria turned around and saw them there, frozen in a horrible tableau, and she knew that she was about to watch Michael die. Without even thinking, she hurled herself back at Michael, getting between him and Lonnie, and shoved him. She saw a brief flash of a bright red light, blinding in its intensity, and then there was nothing.

Michael looked down in horror at Maria, who had fallen to the floor after taking the blast meant for him. Regaining his balance, he looked wildly at Lonnie, who was tensed to run. Raising his arm, he summoned up everything he had within him and released it upon her. It struck her square in the chest, and she fell back against the wall a second time, collapsing to the floor in an unconscious heap. 

Michael quickly knelt beside Maria, rolling her over. He inhaled sharply when he saw the scorch marks on her skin, and how limp she was in his arms. Feeling for a pulse, he closed his eyes briefly in relief when he felt it…faint, but steady. A sudden scrabbling attracted his attention, and he looked up just in time to see Lonnie stumbling out of the still-open door of his apartment, running away. Michael tensed to follow her, but then looked down at Maria again, still in his arms. Torn for a moment, he finally gathered her up and lifted her, heading for the door. He'd have to try and contact Max from the hospital…and let him know that the attack had begun.


	6. pt6

Isabel still hadn't absorbed everything by the time the Jeep's wheels turned off of the smooth highway pavement and onto the grit of the dirt gravel road that led out to the quarry

Isabel still hadn't absorbed everything by the time the Jeep's wheels turned off of the smooth highway pavement and onto the grit of the dirt gravel road that led out to the quarry. They faced west now, and the sunset filled their view with orange sky and blue and pink swirls of clouds against the backdrop of the sun. It was breathtaking in its beauty. But Isabel scarcely noticed. On the way out, she'd noticed her brother's mood, and had persisted in questioning him until he finally told her what had been bothering him the past couple months. Why he and Liz hadn't been together, and the truth he'd finally learned. Isabel was shaken not only by the news of the granilith possibly being used as a time machine, but by the sheer sacrifice that Liz had made. It took a lot, Isabel knew, to deny yourself the one thing that would make you happy in favor of keeping a secret from those you cared about. And what a secret. _God, this whole time…she had to live with Max thinking that she'd…._ Isabel thought as the ramifications hit her completely. It was like a veil had suddenly been removed from her eyes, and she could see clearly for the first time. _I've misjudged her…badly._

She looked over at Max in the driver's seat, who had been silent since the last word of his story. He gripped the steering wheel tightly in his hands, and his arms were straight out in front of him. His jaw clenched. The telling of the story to Isabel had obviously left him emotional, and he was obviously trying to keep his feelings from flying out of control. 

"Max," Isabel said, "I know this must be hard…"

Max glared at her, and Isabel backtracked. "Okay, I **know** I can't know how this feels to you…but I know it hurts." She fell silent for a moment as she tried to figure out how to say what she knew she needed to say to him. "The thing is…you should come away with this knowing you're doing the right thing."

"The right thing?!" Max exploded. He took his eyes off the road for only a moment to meet her eyes with his own incredulous ones, before looking back, and their speed picked up a little.

Isabel hastened to get her point across as the jeep hit a small ditch in the road and bounced her up toward the ceiling. "All I'm saying is, you guys have already gone through so much….to go back on it now would be to invalidate everything you've already given up. Liz did what she did because she knew she had to. She knew it was for the best. I mean really, what choice did she have?" Max remained silent, and she continued. "And now you know the truth…well, that's unfortunate, because it makes it harder on both of you…but the fact remains." 

Isabel bounced in her seat again as they ran over what looked like a small boulder in their path. "The fact remains that you guys can't be together. You know now for a fact what will happen if you are. And there's just so much more at stake than the two of you."

"You think I don't know that?" Max asked harshly. "You think it doesn't rip my heart out to know that by loving Liz, it would cost you and Michael your lives? And everyone else's?" Isabel remained silent as Max breathed a ragged sigh. When he spoke again, he was calmer. "I know that Liz and I can't be together. I know that can't change. It just…hurts." He stopped for a moment and his voice was thick with emotion when he spoke again. "But we would have been happy, Isabel. We would have been married, and happy, and it wasn't us who caused this."

Isabel reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder, knowing that there was nothing she could do to help ease his pain. She searched for the right words, but could find none. A moment later, the jeep slowed as they neared the quarry, and she looked through the windshield at the base of the plateau they were to meet Michael on. "I don't see Michael's car," she said. 

Max pulled to a stop at the base, and put the jeep in park. "He must've parked around on the other side," he said, pulling his seat belt off. They got out of the jeep, and stood in front of it as they contemplated the path up to the top of the plateau. "Well," Max said, jingling his keys, "let's go find out what's going on." They started up the path.

From a distance, Liz watched Max and Isabel start up the path, and waited until they'd rounded a bend before easing her car as quietly as she could closer to the base of the plateau. Parking so that a boulder would block the view of her car from the top, she shut off the ignition and waited a moment before climbing out of the car. A feeling of restlessness filled her, and she hoped that it was just nervousness at having them discover that she'd followed them there, and not some sort of premonition as to what was about to happen. _Well,_ she thought, starting up the path after them, _here goes nothing_.

Reaching the top, Max and Isabel found Michael waiting for them. He was standing at the edge of the plateau, looking down over it. "Hey." he said. 

Max and Isabel glanced at each other, and started in his direction. "Hey," Max said. "What's going on?"

Michael continued to peer over the ledge, looking down at something below him. When he spoke his voice reflected his preoccupation. "Check this out." he said to Max.

Max stepped up beside him and looked down, seeing a small rock platform about ten feet below their current position. It was enclosed by low rock ledges on three sides, and the edge of the plateau forming the fourth wall. Other than that, Max saw nothing. He started to get an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. "What am I looking for?" he asked, turning to look at Michael. 

Michael's lips twitched in amusement, and the movement spread. It shimmered over his whole face, and down his body. And in the stillness left, was Rath. His piercings glinted in the sun, and distracted Max for a moment as Rath said "This!", and shoved him over the edge. 

"Max!" he heard Isabel scream, and then he tumbled over. Luckily, there weren't any outcroppings between him and the floor of the rock platform, so he was uninjured when he hit bottom and rolled. He heard Isabel scream again, and immediately started climbing the cliff. He scaled it quickly, and when he reached the top he saw Rath with his hand around Isabel's throat as they struggled at the opposite edge of the plateau. Isabel managed to break away from him, and swung a fist, connecting with his jaw solidly and sending him off balance. Rath recovered, and extended his hand toward Isabel. Max felt the energy in the air around them crackle, and knew that Rath was about to blast her. He struggled to get over the edge of the cliff, but something inside him knew he wouldn't be in time. "Isabel!" he shouted.

Suddenly he saw a blur at the edge of his vision, and looked up in time to see Liz shooting out from behind a boulder near the entrance to the path back down into the valley. In the blink of an eye she had tackled Rath with everything she had, rushing him over the edge. Max's heart thumped loudly as he thought for a moment that she'd follow him over, but she recovered her balance at the last moment and Rath dropped over the edge alone, reaching out with his hands and catching nothing but air as he fell. Max practically vaulted over the top of the drop, and joined Isabel on the surface. 

"Oh my God," Isabel said, clutching at her throat with one hand. "He was going to kill me…" 

"We've gotta get back," Max said. "We've got to warn the others."

Liz, who had been watching down the side where Rath fell, suddenly sprang back and grabbed an arm from each of them, ushering them toward the path. "I think we really need to worry about **us** right now," she said. As they stumbled toward the mouth of the path, the ground began to rumble beneath them. It was barely noticeable at first, but it grew quickly until they suddenly found themselves hard pressed to stay on their feet. They started shakily down the path, and then heard a loud cracking sound behind them. Turning as one, they saw the brilliant golden light shooting up into the sky from where Rath had fallen. 

Isabel gaped in shock. "Is that **him**? How can that be him? How can he be that strong?"

Max's mind raced, and he looked at Isabel. "He's after you," he said, grabbing her and starting to drag her back down the path again. "We've got to get you to safety…and we have to warn the others."

Liz was on his wavelength, and a plan was forming. She turned to Isabel as they struggled down the path. "Can you make him see me as you?"

Isabel looked at her, a little dazed still from her close encounter. "What?"

Liz repeated herself roughly, trying to break Isabel out of her fog. "I saw Tess do it once…can you make him think he's seeing you when he looks at me?"

Isabel responded to the urgency in Liz's tone. "Y-yes, I can." she said.

It suddenly hit Max where Liz was going with this. "Liz, no…" he started, but was interrupted by a blast of energy shooting down the path at them. Isabel yelled in alarm, and they all looked up and saw that Rath had climbed back up to the top of the plateau, and was now aiming at them again. Max grabbed Isabel and Liz and took off at a run, trying to get to the end of the path several yards away. Just as the trio got to the base, another blast hit down between them, and they all veered off to either side of the path. Isabel ended up on one side, Liz and Max on the other…each hiding behind the large boulders that framed the path. Between them: the no-man's land upon which Rath's blasts continued to rain down. Rocks chipped and flew every which way at each blast, and Max pulled Liz back further behind the boulder. She struggled against him and leaned out to see Isabel over behind her boulder.

"Isabel do it!" she yelled, "I'll draw him away and you can take my form…get back and warn the others!" Isabel looked back at her hesitantly.

Max spun Liz around to face him. "No, Liz! He could kill you!"

Liz shouted back, blinking as another blast rocked the ground behind her. "He'll **kill** Isabel if we don't get her out of here!"

Max looked over Liz's shoulder and watched as Isabel tried to cringe closer to the boulder she hid behind, to keep the fragments of rock from biting into her too painfully. In his horrified imagination, he saw the next blast get too close…saw her fall to the ground and not move again. The thought decided him. "Do it!" he shouted to his sister. 

Isabel heard him and stepped out slightly from the cover of the boulder. She closed her eyes and searched for her inner stillness. Everything around her faded to nothing, and in the silence left she was able to draw upon her power. She reached from within herself up to Rath, on the surface of the plateau. Into his mind she was able to stealthily creep, twisting here and there, around his thoughts and memories. Not touching them, just traveling past. She placed her illusion, and retreated as silently as she'd come. On her way out she felt something tugging at her…something there in his mind, calling to her. Almost without her noticing, she picked up the knowledge and took it with her, leaving his consciousness. Coming back to herself, Isabel opened her eyes and saw Max and Liz looking at her worriedly from across the path. She nodded.

Max reached into his pocket and pulled his keys out, tossing them across the divide to Isabel. _In case I don't make it,_ he thought. She snatched them out of the air, and clenched them tightly in her fist as she prepared to run to the jeep. Max turned back to Liz, and searched her face desperately. She was afraid…he could see her fear clearly, but he could also see her resolution. "I'll get to my car," she said, and pointed over to the left where he could just see the bumper peeking out from behind a large boulder. "I'll take the dirt road, get to the Interstate and head toward Alamogordo…you get her back. I'll lead him away as far as possible, and…call you when I can."

Max swallowed, his worry for her obvious as his hands clenched in helplessness. But he saw no other way out of this. "Liz," he said. He drew her to him and crushed his lips to hers in a desperate kiss.

Isabel watched, tense as Liz and Max shared a passionate kiss before Liz backed away to the edge of the boulder's protection, and stood ready to take off toward her car. Max glanced over toward Isabel to see if she was ready, and they all waited for a break in the fire from above.

Rath paused for a moment, peering down the path to see what effect his blasts had had. He knew that the trio had split up…one on the right side, two on the left, but he wasn't sure which were where. Suddenly a running figure caught his attention from the left side, and he narrowed his eyes when he saw it was Isabel. She seemed to be running for the cover of a large boulder right next to the dirt road…far to the left of the Jeep, which was closer. He aimed to fire again.

Max watched as Liz sprinted away from him, leaping like a gazelle over rocks and small shrubs in her way over to her car. He could hear her ragged breathing, and watched as her hair seemed to bounce in slow motion behind her. With each step she took forward Max lived in fear of a blast burning her down from above. It wasn't long before it happened. 

The blast struck a mere foot behind her, and if Liz hadn't already been leaping away she would have been thrown by it. She continued on. Max turned to Isabel. "Now!" he shouted. Isabel shoved away from the rock wall, propelling herself toward the Jeep at speed. There was a pause in the fire from above as Rath took note of the new target, but their ruse was obviously working…his next blast was still directed toward Liz. Isabel ran on unmolested. 

Max's gaze shot back to Liz as Rath continued his barrage upon her. She zagged this way and that, and that was the only thing keeping her from being hit. Suddenly, though, one of his bolts got too close, and Liz went flying. Before she'd even hit the ground Max found himself running after her. He dodged a blast as Rath realized he was going to "Isabel's" aid, and finally reached Liz. She was starting to get to her knees, gasping for breath, and he hauled her to her feet, dragging her after him as he ran toward the car. Rocks exploded behind them as they ran, and they could see that Isabel had gotten to the jeep. She stood indecisively outside the door of it, watching as her brother and Liz ran from the rain of blasts coming from the path now, as Rath followed them down. Max yelled to her as he ran. "Go! Warn them!" Isabel jerked a nod in reply and jumped in the jeep, starting it and reversing quickly. Skidding to a stop, she put the car in drive and sped off up the road the way they'd come. 

Rath watched as the girl took the jeep and headed back, knowing that she'd go to warn the others. He debated taking the jeep out, but his powers were already almost depleted after the constant usage in the past five minutes, and he let her go. The human wasn't the one he'd come for, anyway. He refocused on Isabel and Max, running toward the boulder, and he realized there must be another car behind it. Reaching the bottom of the path he let loose one final blast in their direction.

Liz yelped as the blast went over their heads and pulverized the boulder her car was parked behind. Recovering quickly, she dug in her pocket for the keys as she left Max's side and stumbled over to the front door. She yanked the door open, sliding in as Max did the same on the passenger side. Jamming the key home, Liz tuned the key and ignited the engine. The tires spun madly as she put the car in gear and floored the accelerator. They shot past Rath, and Max turned in his seat to watch through the rear window as Michael's duplicate waved his hand before the base of the plateau and a trans-am appeared, previously hidden by his powers. He watched through a cloud of dust as Rath got in and started after them.

"Damn it!" Max breathed. Rath was already gaining on them. "Liz, go faster."

Liz gave it more gas, and her little car shot forward in response. "It won't take this for very long," she warned. She navigated the curves and corners carefully, trying not to fishtail in the dust. She knew that any delay now could be fatal. Behind them, the trans-am was still gaining rapidly, though it seemed to have a little more trouble in the dust, lacking the front-wheel drive of Liz's citation. "We have to gain as much of a lead as we can while still in the desert," she said. 

Max nodded. "We have the advantage," he said, "we know the area." 

Now how do we use it? he thought. Like a map in his head he plotted out the twists and turns ahead of them, and had an idea. "Go as fast as you can," he told Liz. "Take the corners fast, that's our only advantage." 

Liz complied, flooring the accelerator. They took the next turn and Max had to brace himself against the dashboard to keep from falling into Liz's lap. "Okay, maybe not **that** fast," he quipped.

Liz glanced over at him. Her eyes swept over him in a moment, and then shot back to the road. "Put your seat belt on." she said. 

Max looked at her, bemused. "Are you serious?" 

Liz glared at him, and he reached for the seat belt.

They kept taking the turns fast, and gradually were able to lengthen their lead a little. Max estimated the distance in his head. "It should only be a few more turns until we get to the interstate." Liz nodded. She was a little worried that he'd be able to gain on them again there. Without the dust of the backroad they were currently on, her front-wheel drive would cease to be an advantage. Luckily, however, state route 70 was just as long and winding as the road they were on right now. Her smaller car should be able to keep ahead. 

Within a couple more curves they could no longer see Rath's trans-am behind them, but they knew he was there. Thinking that she was Isabel, he'd have to pursue her. Rounding one last turn in the road, they came up to the 70 junction. A sign stood opposite their road, pointing to the left and the right. To the right, Roswell, to the left, Alamogordo. Coming from Roswell, a semi speeded up what was probably one of the only straight sections in the road. Liz saw their opportunity immediately. Without even slowing down for the stop, she turned out onto the interstate heading west, toward Alamogordo, cutting in front of the semi. Max turned again and looked out the back windshield and Liz's eyes flew to her rearview mirror. The semi honked loudly at them, but there was nothing he could do to get around them due to a curve coming up in the road ahead. Behind the semi, they saw the trans-am stop briefly at the junction, and turn to follow them. 

"Yes!" Max shouted, looking back at Liz in triumph. "He can't get up to us because of the semi, but he can still see us to follow us. Liz, you're a genius."

Liz grinned. "Now we just have to hope there aren't any straight stretches of road for awhile." The plan ran through her head again, and she thought they could do it…could continue to lead him away from Roswell. "How long do you think Isabel's thought control will work on him?" she asked. 

Max thought about it. "No more than an hour or so, I'd say." he said. "And it's two hours to Alamogordo. Even if he catches up to us by that point, he'll be seeing you as you. Our objective is to get to a phone there, and call the others. Make sure Isabel got back okay and warned them." 

As the sun slipped beneath the horizon, night closed in on the three vehicles heading west on state route 70. Liz's small citation, the towering semi, and the sleek and dangerous trans-am. 

~*~*~*~*~

Beep. … Beep. … Beep. … Beep. … Beep. … 

Michael sat silently listening to the sound of the EKG. It was steady and strong, and this was a bit of relief to his worried mind. His head was in his hands, but he was ever aware of Maria's still form lying in the bed he sat beside, taking each breath in her sleep. She hadn't regained consciousness yet, and the doctors thought it best to let her sleep through her body's healing process. Michael knew they were right, but at that moment he'd have given anything to have her wake up and look at him. Start chewing him out for something or another, call him Spaceboy…anything to know that she was really okay. 

There was a commotion in the hallway, and Michael looked up to see Sheriff Valenti entering the room. Behind him were the mirror images of Tess and Ava. Michael stood even as he noticed that Ava had put her hair up under a cap, and had taken out her piercings. He came around the bed and met the Sheriff at the foot of it. "Thank you for coming," he said. 

Sheriff Valenti shook his hand and took off his hat, holding it as he turned to look at Maria. 

"How is she?" he asked. 

Michael followed his gaze, taking in the scorch marks on Maria's hands and upper arms where she'd tried to ward off Lonnie's blast. "She's stable," he said. "But I didn't know what to tell the doctors about what happened to her."

Valenti looked back at Michael. "What **did** happen to her?" 

Michael sighed and ran a hand though his hair, making it stick up even more. "Well you know how we told you about those duplicates?" Valenti nodded, and Michael went on. "Well, they're here. Apparently mine, Rath, called Max and asked him and Isabel to meet him somewhere, posing as me. Liz was with them, and thought something was wrong. She told Alex she was going to follow them, and had him call Maria to let her know what was going on. Except that Alex didn't know where they were going, so Maria just assumed it was my place. She came over and…Lonnie showed up. As Isabel. She tried to kill me, but Maria got in the way." At the Sheriff's stunned expression, Michael explained, "I called Alex; he told me what happened. He's on his way." 

Valenti absorbed this. "Where would they have met him?" he asked. 

Michael had already given this some thought. "The only place I can think of is out in the desert…a quarry we go to sometimes. It's about fifteen miles west of Roswell." 

Sheriff Valenti nodded. "Yeah, I think I know where you're talking about. I'm gonna go put an APB out on both Max's jeep and Liz's citation. You guys **stay** here." Valenti turned and headed out of the room, grabbing hold of his radio and bringing it up to speak rapidly into it.

Michael returned to his seat by Maria's side, and Tess and Ava sat in chairs in the other corner of the room, by the door. He looked up at them briefly. "We need to stay together," he said… "until we figure out what's going on. Rath's out there after Max and Isabel, but Lonnie's still at large here in Roswell." 

Tess straightened…what he'd said sounded like an order, and she remembered that he had been Max's second in command, in another life. She nodded her affirmation, and he looked back at Maria. She thought for a few minutes. "So what happened, Michael…how were you able to get away?" 

Michael told them what had happened. "She came there looking for me. And she would have killed me. But she didn't know about Maria." He looked at her again, and Tess could see on his face all of his concern for her, and for the others he wasn't able to warn in time. 

She tried to offer him some comfort. "Rath…doesn't know about Liz, Michael. Three against one…they'll get away." 

Michael closed his eyes, trying to keep his emotions off his face. He wanted to believe that she was right…but with every moment that passed and he didn't hear from them, his fear grew. At last he spoke. "They're strong, though. Lonnie took that hit from me and went down…but she was up again in just a minute. How can they be that strong?" 

Tess didn't know how to answer him, and was surprised when Ava spoke up from her chair. "It's because of the lives we've lived," she said. "You guys grew up here. You had families, and friends, and people who cared about you. With us….it was just us. There was no one else. No one to notice the way we acted, no one to see our unusual behavior and powers. You guys have lived in constant fear of being discovered, and have sought to hide your powers. We…we were ghosts. Invisible. And we practiced them." As Michael and Tess absorbed this, Ava went on. "Lonnie and Rath especially are strong because they're focused. Their power is important to them, because they're ambitious." 

Ava grew quiet, as she remembered. "They're ruthless. That's why they killed Zan. Because he got in their way." She took a breath. "Rath, he's not very smart. He's strong, but he mostly follows Lonnie's orders. She's the one you have to watch out for. She's smart. Smart, and dangerous. And above everything else, she wants to get home. She will kill all of us if we get in her way."

Tess observed Ava's fearful demeanor when speaking of Lonnie. "You're afraid of her," she ventured. 

Ava looked up. "You should be too." 


	7. pt7

Twin beams of light shot out from the headlights of the citation and shone into the phone booth, illuminating Max inside

Twin beams of light shot out from the headlights of the citation and shone into the phone booth, illuminating Max inside. As he picked up the phone to try another number, a shadow across the light distracted him, and he looked up to see Liz's lithe form in between the booth and the car. Her arms were wrapped around herself, trying to stay warm in the chilly desert-night air, and she paced worriedly to and fro. Max knew she was looking for the trans-am that they hadn't seen for the past thirty miles…and he shared her worry over its whereabouts. At least when he'd been behind them they'd known where Rath was; now they had no idea. Was he still out there, looking for them? Had he given up? Aborted his pursuit of them and gone back to Roswell? If so, all the more reason to get through to someone there and make sure Isabel had gotten back in time to warn them. 

He'd already tried his home phone number, and Michael's apartment, to no avail. Finally he remembered Tess's cell phone. He entered the number from the calling card he kept in case of emergencies, and then punched in her number. It rang twice before she picked up. 

"Hello?"

Max changed hands in holding the phone up to his ear, with his other he gestured to Liz that he'd gotten through. She stepped closer to the phone booth, watching him through the glass. "Tess!" he said, "Did Isabel get back?"

Tess's voice was relieved. "Yes, she's here. She told us what happened…Max, are you okay?" 

Max shrugged off the question. "Yeah, we're all right. Liz and I made it to Alamogordo. We've lost Rath, though…we're not sure if he's here, or if he's on his way back to you." 

"Liz and you…" Tess said. 

Max interrupted. "Tess, is Michael there?" 

"Y-yes, he is. Hold on." Tess stuttered, and Max heard fumbling as she passed the phone. A moment later he heard Michael's no-nonsense tone. "You okay?" 

"Yeah," Max repeated. "We're in Alamogordo. Listen, Michael…you need to keep everyone together."

Max almost heard Michael's brusque nod. "Done…Tess and Ava and Isabel and me are at Liz's." 

"Liz's place?" Max asked. 

"It's the only place we could be without lots of other people around to wonder what was going on." 

Max's brow furrowed. "What about your apartment?" 

When Michael spoke next his voice sounded a little forced. "They've already been to my place," he said. 

Max closed his eyes, afraid of what he was about to hear. "Michael? Michael what happened?"

Michael's voice was choked when he answered. "Lonnie tried to get to me….she got Maria." 

Eyes flying open, Max's gaze was met by Liz's, on the other side of the glass. He knew she couldn't hear the conversation, but she could see his expression. At the shock on his face she stepped closer to the glass, and he saw her lips form his name soundlessly. Finally he was able to speak again into the receiver. "**Got** her? You mean…" 

"She's okay," Michael said, "At least the doctors say she will be. She hasn't regained consciousness yet, though." 

Outside the phone booth, Liz watched as Max slumped against the glass and she felt her pulse speed up. _Oh God,_ she thought…_something's wrong…someone's been hurt. Max…._ She stepped closer to the booth and reached a hand up to press flat against the glass, as if trying to connect to Max on the other side. She saw Max open his eyes and look at her from inside the booth, and his own hand reached up to rest against the other side of hers…only the glass between them. He looked back at her earnestly, and there was something in his face that reassured her. Something **was** wrong, she could tell. But it wasn't too bad…at least not yet. Feeling a little better, she watched as he continued to speak into the receiver, listening some more and then giving instructions to Michael. Watched as he hung up and opened the door to the booth and stepped out. 

Liz looked around again nervously, and then met Max's gaze. "What is it?" she asked. "What happened?" 

Max took a deep breath, trying to figure out the best way to tell her. "Maria's in the hospital." he said. Forestalling her cry of fear, he hastened to clarify. Grasping her arms he said "She's okay, Liz…she's all right. She's unconscious, but she'll come out of it."

Liz's breathing was ragged, and her eyes were wide when she looked at him. "What happened?" she repeated. Max watched her face grow pale as he told her about Lonnie, and when he saw tears form in her eyes he drew her to him, enfolding her in his arms and holding her, wishing he could make it all go away. 

Liz didn't resist him as he pulled her into his arms, and she tried not to break down crying. So much had happened in the last twenty four hours, it was almost too much to bear. She clung to Max like a lifeline, and he held her just as tightly. 

Finally he drew back a little, and looked around watchfully. "We need to get inside somewhere," he said. "I'm worried that we don't know if Rath's still after us or not." He looked down at Liz's face, and noticed for the first time the exhaustion evident on it. "And we're both beat," he said tenderly. "I don't think either of us got any sleep last night." 

Liz flushed as she remembered **why** they hadn't gotten any sleep the night before…remembering their desperate kiss before she'd run out of the Crashdown. Her lips still seemed to burn from his passionate kiss before she'd run out from behind the boulder at the quarry, and she fought the urge to touch them with her fingers, to hold the kiss there and keep the feel of his lips pressed against hers. Trying to change the subject, Liz asked "What about the others?"

Max ran a hand through his hair. "They're okay…Isabel got back and told them what happened, and Michael's got them all holed up at your place right now." At Liz's questioning look, he explained. "Everyone else has parents to answer to, and other people that might get caught up in the crossfire, like Maria. Your parents are out of town right now." 

Liz nodded. It seemed stupid to be worried about the diner or what her parents would say right now…there was so much more at stake. _Thank God they're not here now,_ she thought numbly. 

Max saw the tired acceptance on her face, and shame swept through him. "I'm sorry, Liz. Sorry that you guys got caught up in this…sorry for everything." he said. 

Liz looked up at him and smiled. It was weak, but genuine. "It's not your fault, Max. You didn't know any of this was going to happen, and there was nothing you could have done to prevent it."

"I could have listened to you when you said something was wrong…" Max started, but Liz pressed her fingers against his lips and prevented him from speaking more. She smiled at him again, and her expression showed understanding. Without a word, she understood and forgave his concern that he'd involved her in all this. They looked at each other silently for a moment, and then she spoke again. "So what do we do now?"

Max placed a hand on the small of her back and led her gently back toward the Citation. "We're going to hole up for the night," he said. "Find a hotel or something, and get some sleep. In the morning we can get back to Roswell, meet up with everyone, and figure out our next move." They got back in the car, Max driving this time, and the phone booth darkened again as the headlights swung away from it, and back toward the road.

~*~*~*~*~

"I just can't believe he didn't tell us." Michael said again. "I mean, he's always the one who's so set on us not keeping secrets from each other, but he doesn't tell us **this**?" 

Isabel sighed and, having finished brushing her hair, put it back in a braid for the night. "He wasn't hiding it from us, Michael," she said. "It was just…a shock to him. He needed time to figure it out on his own." She rose from the vanity and headed over to Liz's bed, pulling the covers back. "Are they gonna be okay down there?" she asked.

Michael's thoughts went to Tess and Ava, downstairs in the Crashdown, on first watch. They were set to wake him and Isabel at 4 a.m., and go to sleep then. "Yeah, they'll let us know if anything comes up." Seeing the concern on Isabel's face, he continued. "I don't like this any more than you do, but we'll be no good at all if we don't sleep. And at least we're all together. All we've gotta do is lay low until Max gets back in the morning, and we'll have a much better chance to deal with Lonnie and Rath." 

Isabel nodded her agreement. She watched as Michael continued to ready himself against a possible assault from the duplicates, transferring items he'd brought from his apartment into a duffle bag that he would keep next to him. He worked silently, but Isabel thought that something bothered him. "How's Maria?" she ventured. 

Michael thrust a coiled rope into the duffle bag and paused. "I just called a little while ago. No change." Without ever having changed his facial expression, he resumed packing. 

Isabel picked up on his worry. "She'll be okay, Michael. And Alex is there with her, right?" 

Michael took a breath, still looking down at the bag. "Yeah. He's there. Not that he'd be able to stop Lonnie if she came back." 

Isabel tried to reassure him. "Look, I know you hate to leave her there virtually unprotected, but Alex won't let anyone get to her, Michael. And it's highly unlikely that Lonnie would go back there, anyway. She's not after Maria. She'll be safe where she is."

"Yeah, now that I'm not there to present a big fat target and draw fire to her." 

Isabel crossed to Michael and placed a hand on his arm, forcing him to look at her. "She'll be okay." she said again. 

Michael looked into her eyes and saw that she was serious, and let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. He nodded a little, and picked up his last item to be put into the duffle bag. 

Isabel stepped back in shock when she saw the gun. "Where did you get that?" she asked. 

"It was Hank's," he said. "One of the things he left behind." He took out a clip and slammed it home, shoving the gun into the bag. He looked at Isabel. "Just in case" 

~*~*~*~*~

Downstairs in the Crashdown, Ava and Tess had taken up positions at the two front windows, on opposite sides of the diner. Tess scanned the empty street in front of them, and then turned to see Ava mixing tobasco sauce into her chocolate ice cream. "How can you eat at a time like this?" she asked. 

Ava spooned a mouthful and grinned at Tess. Swallowing, she asked "When would you prefer me to eat? In the morning? When we're dead?" 

"Whoa, negative much?" Tess said, taken aback at Ava's fatalistic approach. 

"Sorry," Ava said, sliding another heaping spoonful into her mouth. "But I know Lonnie. When she wants something, she gets it. And she wants that granilith." They sat in silence for a few minutes as Ava ate, and Tess continued to look out the window. After a moment, Ava spoke again, as if she'd been thinking. "Besides," she said, licking the spoon before placing it back in the empty bowl, "you've gotta take life as it comes to you. You've got to live each moment as you've got it…'cause you can't guarantee that you'll be able to later."

Tess contemplated that. "I suppose that's one viewpoint," she said. "I've never really thought of it that way." At Ava's curious look, Tess explained. "The Destiny. All my life, I've been told about the destiny that I had, and how I would have to fulfill it one day. My whole life has basically been in preparation for it." She paused for a beat as that sank in. "There haven't really been any moments to go with." 

Ava seemed moved by the injustice. "But see, you can't live your life like that! There's too much out there to see and do to wanna follow some set of rules handed down to you." 

Tess was curious. "But wouldn't you like to have something in your life that you can count on?" she said. "Some stability?" 

Ava thought for a moment. "You count on the relationships you form. For a long time my stability was Zan and the others." 

"But that changed." Tess remarked. 

"But I didn't," Ava said. "Everything changes…everything but you. In the end, you're all you've got. And **that's** your stability. Trade in a destiny for a free will? Any day, man. Any day. 

And there's always stuff to move on to…I mean, here I am, across the country…but I've found people who will take me in. People who care. People like me." Ava grinned at Tess as she said it, "some even more like me than others." 

Tess smiled back, and then thought about the similarities and the differences between them. She wondered how Ava saw them. "Doesn't it…doesn't it bother you? Seeing Max?" she asked. 

Ava sobered. "At first, yeah." she nodded. "It did. It was hard seeing him, and not thinking of Zan. But I eventually realized they're not the same. They may have started out with the same genetic structure and all…but they're not the same person." 

Tess cocked her head. "What do you mean?" 

Ava tried to figure out how to explain. "Well, it's like…they grew up in different places. They lived different lives, and had to make different kinds of decisions. Each decision and turning point in their lives changed them, and formed them into different people. Like us." 

Another comfortable silence fell between them, and they watched a car go by without slowing before Ava spoke again. "I hope he's okay, though. Him and Liz. I hope Rath's not still looking for them. He's relentless." 

Tess heard the fondness in Ava's voice. "You like her?" 

Ava shrugged a little. She seemed to be embarrassed at the thought of having formed an attatchment. "She's nice to me," she said. "It's always nice to have a friend."

As the night wore on, and they kept watch, Tess pondered Ava's words. 

~*~*~*~*~

Elsewhere in the dark, the trans-am cut through the night like a panther; growling low in its throat…searching for its prey.


	8. pt8

Twilight had fallen swiftly on Alamogordo, and the darkness swooped down like a large bird

Twilight had fallen swiftly on Alamogordo, and the darkness swooped down like a large bird...obscuring the landscape with its raven wings, and blotting out the sky. The stars, usually so brilliant when viewed from the desert, were shrouded by the clouds; made all the more dark for the lack of moonlight. Through the dimness, the bright red _vacancy_ sign of the Oasis hotel flashed like a beacon...throwing neon glints into the surrounding desert. Reflecting off the bumper of the gray citation parked in the lot alongside the hotel. There was no sound but the faint buzz of the incandescent bulbs as the sign flicked on. Off. On. Off.

On. The windows of the rooms of the hotel were lit up briefly by the flashing light, and were then plunged into darkness again as it dimmed. 

Inside the room, Liz and Max slept...unaware of the battle for dominance between the darkness and the light just beyond their window. They had found the hotel and Liz had checked them in while Max scouted the area, to make sure they really **had** lost Rath. There had been a bit of awkwardness at deciding who should get the bed, but Max ultimately decided he would take the floor. Too tired to even eat first, they had fallen asleep almost immediately, each finding themselves strangely comforted just by being in the other's presence.

And so the light intermittently tried to gain access to their den, but was blocked by the heavy blinds. Only a faint reddish tinge managed to find its way in, and it flashed sullenly across their slumbering forms. And they slept. And they dreamed. 

~*~*~*~

Max entered the lab, trying to be quiet. All around him gleaming equipment sat, performing various functions, glowing green on their panels. Rounding a corner, he came upon two women at a desk…one of them standing, handing slides to the other. She was tall, and had vibrant, flaming red hair. She saw Max's movement and glanced up to him, but her greeting lapsed into a mere smile when he put his fingers to his lips in a plea for silence. She looked down expectantly at the woman sitting before the microscope on the desk, who seemed oblivious. The seated woman's hand reached up to turn the knob on the microscope just a bit further, and stayed to absentmindedly pull a lock of her long dark hair behind her ear where it belonged. She was completely unaware of Max's approach. 

"I think we've got something here, Serena," she said, excitement creeping into her voice. "I think this could be what we're looking for." Suddenly she screamed as Max plucked her off the stool and whirled her around in the air. "Max!"

She giggled as he placed her back on the floor, and squeezed her tightly to him. She hugged back, and he could feel her breath on his neck as she whispered "I missed you."

"I missed you," he said to her softly, and pulled back to look in her eyes. There was joy there, and amusement and excitement and love. Overwhelming love. And he was even more glad than ever to be back after his two week hiatus away. Sensing her burgeoning need to tell him of her discovery, he asked. "So…you said you're on to something?"

Liz's eyes shone. "Yes," she answered. "But I'll tell you about that later. For now, I am whisking you out of here, and keeping you all to myself for the rest of the night!" Max grinned as she shed her lab coat, hanging it neatly on a hook on the wall and picking up her jacket. She turned to Serena. "Hey, check that out and let me know if it suggests to you what it suggests to me, okay?"

Serena grinned and took Liz's abandoned seat, yelling back at Max over her shoulder. "You keep that wife of yours busy for a while, eh? She practically lives in here driving me crazy when you're gone!" Liz grinned at her friend, and then turned the smile on Max, her eyes full of love, her smile full of promise.

Max grinned, completely happy. And for a moment his happiness wouldn't let him hear the rumbling sound in the distance…wouldn't acknowledge the sudden fear in Liz's face. "Max, Max what's going on?" she asked, a hand reaching out to his for support.

He grabbed her hand and yanked her along after him, trying to keep them both upright on the suddenly unsteady floor as he raced to the metal shutters covering the windows. He hit the release button with the heel of his palm, and waited tensely for the shutters to open. 

They opened on a scene from hell. Liz sobbed beside him, and clenched his hand tightly. Fire was raining down upon the city beneath them, coming from the sky…from high up in the atmosphere. Below them houses and buildings burned, and people ran in the streets. Behind them, people screamed and cried out in fear when they saw what was happening. 

Max closed his eyes on the sight. For a moment…for a moment only. He held Liz's hand tightly, and focused only on her…the only tangible thing in a world that had suddenly gone unreal. "Liz," he whispered…

~*~*~*~

In the hotel room, Liz's sleeping form turned over restlessly, disturbed by the images. Trails of tears ran down her face, and she mumbled something in her sleep. Beside her, on the floor, Max also tossed and turned. They slept on.

~*~*~*~

Liz and Max were on her balcony, back in Roswell…younger than only a moment ago…young like they were now. They lay together on a lawn chair, looking up at the stars. The peace and tranquility of the night created an idyllic scene, and Liz sighed and nestled her head comfortably against Max's chest. "It's so beautiful," she said. "I wish we knew which star was yours..."

"My star," Max said, his voice floating and drifting along. Liz felt like she was in a fog; pleasantly so, and her fingers entwined with Max's as he looked down into her upturned face. He brought his other hand up to caress her cheek and in that moment Liz felt more special and loved than she ever had in her life. "You're my star," he whispered, "you're my home." And his lips met hers tenderly. 

And the next thing she knew Max was on the floor of the balcony, breathing heavily, and there was blood…blood everywhere, and he was dying, and she didn't know what to do and…

"Max!"

~*~*~*~

Liz cried out in her sleep, and Max twitched in response. Alarm bells were going off in his head, and part of him struggled to awaken. To help Liz. But he was embroiled in the dream, and the bit of him that had struggled to the surface of his consciousness sank back down again, entangled in the net the dreams had cast over them both. 

~*~*~*~

The world trembled, and rocks fell from the ceiling as they entered the chamber. Two forms ran huddled over, trying to protect themselves from the carnage happening all around them. One of the forms, the smaller one, tripped as they stumbled into the chamber, and the taller form reached out to steady her. He grasped her by the arms, and looked into her eyes. 

"I won't leave you," Max said.

Liz tried to push him away. "No, no no Max, you have to."

"If I'm successful, if I can do this, you and I won't exist. Not as we do now."

Liz tried to hold back the tears. Tried to remember why they had to do what they had to do. "Max, if you don't do this, we're gonna die. Everyone will. Max, you have to do this. You have to try it."

"I'll never see you again," he said, and watched the way the flickering lights played against her features…all so familiar to him. The thought of never seeing her again broke his heart…broke it because he knew he had to do this. "Thank you." 

Liz looked at him quizzically. "For what?" 

"For every kiss, every smile." 

Moved by his words, and the knowledge that this was in all probability the last time she'd ever see him, it was suddenly important to her to tell him everything in her heart. "Max, I don't have any regrets."

He looked at her, into her…into her heart. And she knew that he understood. She nodded, and he turned to the granilith. Max knew he had to do this before he could think about it any more. 

Because if he looked at her for one more moment, he wouldn't be able to go through with it. He slid out a long, slender crystal…placing gently into a hollow tube in the granilith. There was a flash, and a moment later he was **in** the granilith. He could still see the chamber…still see Liz below him, looking up at him…loss already etched upon her face. Max closed his eyes.

The bond formed between them so long ago filled the distance between them, and Max let it flow around him. He drew it close to him, reveling in it, knowing it was the last time he would be able to communicate with her this way. He could feel her sorrow within him, all around him, and also her love. He opened his eyes again and looked down at her. **I can't…I can't do this…I can't…**…. he thought, even knowing that it was already too late. He reached out his hand; wanting to touch her one last time. 

Liz got as close as she could and reached up her hand to him…wanting to touch him one last time….

And the chamber quaked…sending her falling to the ground. When she looked up, he was gone. He was gone. It hit her, as the destruction became complete around her. She'd lost him. She'd never see him again. He'd gone back to change the last fourteen years, to keep them from ever being together. And the sound that burst from her throat was a keening, as she cried. "Aah! Ma…Max!"

~*~*~*~

"Max! Max!" Liz's pitiful moaning finally broke Max out of sleep's spell, and he pushed to his feet. Rushing to her side, he sank to the bed next to her and pulled her struggling form into his arms. "Shhh," he said, trying to soothe her, "shh, Liz, it's okay. You're dreaming. Liz…Liz wake up."

Unaware, Liz continued to writhe in his embrace, distraught by the images she continued to see. 

"Max!" she called out again, "please, no….I can't be here without you! Please…come back, take me with you! God Max, please don't leave me!"

Max went cold as he realized they'd been sharing the dreams…as he realized where she still was; what she was still seeing. "Liz," he said urgently, still trying to hold her. "Liz I'm right here. I'm right here. I haven't left. Wake up, Liz. Look at me."

His words seemed to gradually have an effect on her, and her struggles slowly ceased. Her breathing calmed a little, and she choked on her sobs. Her eyes opened and she looked at him, her eye lashes spikey and wet from her tears. Max belatedly realized that his **own** face was wet, that he'd been crying and he hadn't even realized it. They stared at each other for a moment, and he could see the understanding come to her eyes, as well. They'd shared those dreams. Been stuck in them together. And they both knew that they weren't really dreams.

Liz clung to him, and he held her tightly, feeling her trembling in his arms. Everything they had just seen was right there in their minds, and the hopelessness of their situation hit them again, full force in that moment. Liz couldn't stop herself from crying, and Max found himself hard pressed not to. He tried to comfort her. "Liz," he said, but his voice broke and he couldn't go on. He shut his eyes and pressed his cheek against her hair…fitting perfectly against her as she leaned into him. 

Liz cried silently into Max's chest, her arms around him tightly, wanting only to hold on to him forever. He could feel her body quaking, pressed against him, and tried to pull her closer. The scent of her hair enveloped him, and he lost himself within it. 

Sensing a slight change in the vibe between them, Liz pulled back a little and looked up at him. He looked down at her and thought how, even with her eyes red from crying and her hair disheveled, she was still the most beautiful woman in the world to him.

Liz saw the desire in his eyes, in his face, and she felt herself drawn in by it. She was acutely aware of his arms around her, and the feel of his skin beneath her hands. They were so close…not kissing him right now was killing her.

And it was killing Max. She was right there, in his arms…beautiful and wanting him, and he loved her. He knew it now, beyond a shadow of a doubt. He was in love with Liz Parker, and he always would be. Without her…there was nothing. Nothing, now that he had seen what they were together. The agony of not kissing her in that moment was exquisite.

All Liz could do was feel. All of her rational thoughts had fled her mind, and she could see only Max. Feel only Max. Breathe him, taste him, want him. She needed him, and the desperation within her grew to be an unbearable pressure. _We can't, we can't…can't ever be together…_ But in that moment she didn't care. Just for that moment, she was willing to throw everything else away, if it meant she could be with Max.

As if he'd read her mind, Max bent his head down to hers and their lips met. Remembering the dreams they had just shared, Liz wondered _maybe he **is** reading my mind…_. Softly at first, his tongue delved into her mouth and she received him eagerly, her mind floating somewhere above the bed. All of her other senses seemed suspended, all she knew was the feel of him against her…his lips, his hands, his chest against hers, the length of his leg running along her shin from where they sat adjacent to each other. 

Max moaned lightly into Liz's mouth…overwhelmed by the amazing sensations coursing through him. Responding to his arousal, Liz's own tongue darted out and flicked against his lips, and Max lost any and all rational thought he had previously been able to hold on to. Pulses speeding up, things quickly elevated between them. They were frenzied, and desperate, and passionate. Everything from the outside world was lost to them…it all came down to just the two of them, Max and Liz.

****

~Flash~

Kissing, kissing on their wedding day, kissing hello as Max returned from his journey…kissing one last desperate kiss as the world crumbled apart around them, the granilith glowing serenely behind them.

****

~Flash~

Throwing herself away from him with a cry, Liz half jumped, half fell off the bed. "What are we doing?!" she wailed. "What are we doing? How can we even…God, Max, this is **exactly** what you said cemented our relationship. It's what changed things forever. We can't, we can't let that happen."

Max's voice was low, serious…but he couldn't hide his feelings for her. Not any more. "I know."

Liz looked at him and tried not to be drawn back into his eyes…those eyes, dark with passion and need…her own need reflected back to her. "I mean it, Max! I mean it…" her voice broke, as emotion threatened to overtake her again. Max reached for her and she jumped back from him. "No, don't touch me! We can't touch….we can't talk…we can't even ever be around each other. Because just by **knowing** you, I love you, and I can't stop myself!" She continued to try to pull away from him, but her efforts were growing weaker. It was so hard to fight against what she wanted…so hard to keep fighting. Overcome with the anguish of it, she finally allowed herself to be pulled into his arms again. 

Holding her tightly, he whispered, almost to himself. "I can't do this, Liz….I can't live without you in my life." He stared at her helplessly…torn; knowing that they couldn't be together, but wanting to be as he'd never wanted anything else in his life.

Irrevocably, inevitably, she found herself gazing into his eyes again, and she came to a decision. Somehow her hands were suddenly around his neck, fingers tangling in his hair. "Tonight," she said, fresh tears spilling over. "If I can't be with you for the rest of my life, then let us at least have tonight."

His eyes widened. Did she really think that was all he wanted? One night, and then forget about her? As if he'd be able to? No…one night wasn't enough…he wanted her forever, mind body and soul. "Liz, no, that's not what I…."

"I know," she said, and she pressed her fingers against his lips to stop him. His thoughts were reflected clearly on his face. "I know…It's not enough for me, either. But…it's all we have."

He looked at her with sorrow etched on his face as he recognized the truth. "One night," she said again… "one night to last us the rest of our lives."

Yes, Max thought as they came together again. _Yes, one night, Liz. To last forever. But I won't move on after this…I can't. I'll love you forever. My first…a part of me Tess will never be able to touch….you'll be my only at heart._

His lips descended upon hers; their bodies pressed together. Her fingertips traced across his chest, up to his shoulders, down his back as he trailed kisses along her jawline and down her throat. _Oh God, Max,_ she thought as she shivered under his touch, _I love you…_

Bringing a hand up to touch her face as he had the previous night in the Crashdown, Max watched her close her eyes and savor his touch. "I love you too," he said. Liz's eyes opened, but there was no surprise in them. She arched up to kiss him again, and they both tried to imprint every movement, every sigh, every moment of sweetness upon their memories, to keep with them for all eternity. To last forever. Running his fingers through her hair, he felt her pressing against him, and they melted together as they sank back onto the bed.


	9. pt9

Max was pulled gradually from sleep by the first rays of the sun's light filtering into the room through the blinds on the window

Max was pulled gradually from sleep by the first rays of the sun's light filtering into the room through the blinds on the window. As the room brightened, the first thing he was immediately aware of was the soft, warm body in his arms; snuggled against him. Liz. Max's eyes flew open and he looked at her still form in near disbelief. Then everything came flooding back to him.

Max's chest seemed to constrict, and his heart appeared to be too big for it. He had to struggle to take his next breath. It was as if something inside of him had burst free and was soaring joyously. Liz…Liz was here, in his arms. They were together. 

He closed his eyes for a moment and just _felt_. He felt the heat radiating from her body, he felt her hair cascading down his left arm, wrapped around her back. He felt the length of her body against his…each inch of her skin against his like fire. He felt her eyelashes blinking against his chest….wait.

Max pulled back slightly and looked down to find Liz's eyes open and trained on him. She seemed to be a little embarrassed at having been caught. "I was watching you sleep," she said, her voice low and soft. "I didn't want to wake you."

Max brought his hand up to brush her hair back from her face tenderly, and as he continued to look at her she admitted the rest. "And…I was trying to put off the whole morning thing." She tried a little smile as she said it, but it quickly failed as everything else came rushing back to them. The duplicates, Roswell, getting back to normal…not being together. Max felt the thing in his heart tumble from the sky and crash, as he realized it was over. It had to be. After this moment, he couldn't ever hold her again. Couldn't ever lie like this again with her in his arms. Couldn't kiss her, touch her; couldn't love her. "Liz…"

Liz touched his lips with her fingertips to stop his words, as she had done the night before. "Don't, Max." she whispered. "We both knew it would be like this." She removed her hand, and he stared at her silently, wishing with every fiber of his being that things were different. "We have to not be sad…we have to take last night with us. And remember it always."

Despite her brave words, her eyes filled with tears, and she looked down to keep him from seeing, and Max's heart broke. He lifted her head gently with a hand under her chin, and made her look into his eyes again. It was too much for her, and she sobbed. Desperately, Max crushed his lips to hers and pulled her to him as tightly as he could. 

~*~*~*~*~

Isabel yawned delicately as she stretched in front of the main window of the Crashdown. She faced the empty street outside…all of the other businesses on the street closed on this early Saturday morning…and wondered where Lonnie and Rath were, and why they hadn't come for them during the night. It didn't make sense for them to wait until daylight to make their attack…it would have been far more efficient to use the darkness as their cover. _Unless they still don't know where we are,_ she thought, _which is entirely possible. None of us are officially connected to the Crashdown…it's only through Liz that we're able to be here._

As she thought of Liz, Isabel wondered how she and Max were doing, in Alamogordo, and hoped that Rath had at some point turned around and come back to Roswell. She hated to think of Max in that town alone, with no one else to help him should Rath attack. 

No, not alone, she corrected herself. _Liz is with him. You'd think after all she's done for us in the past I'd stop underestimating her. Only yesterday she saved **my** life._

Isabel's thoughts were interrupted by Tess entering the dining room. She had obviously just woken up, and was still in the clothes she'd slept in. The immaculate Isabel arched an eyebrow at Tess and the shorter girl grinned, reaching up to try to smooth down her tangled hair. "Michael's in the shower," she said. "I must wait to rejoin the civilized world."

Isabel smiled back. "Did you sleep well?"

"All four hours, you mean?" Tess quipped. "Actually, no. I've…been thinking about a lot of things."

"Like what?"

Tess pulled a chair away from one of the tables and set it next to the booth Isabel was occupying. She turned the chair around and straddled it, resting her chin on her hands on the chair back. "About this whole destiny thing, I guess. The last couple days have made me think that maybe…maybe I've been too close-minded about everything."

Surprise was evident on Isabel's face. "But you're the one who's **always** believed we should follow our destiny."

Tess nodded. "I know. And it always seemed right to me. But…somehow it doesn't, anymore. I mean…I'm starting to feel like I've been misled this whole time…like we're puppets. Following some great plan, designed by people we've never even met." Tess looked down at her hands, fiddling with a fray in the chair back. "And it's making people miserable."

Isabel observed Tess with guarded curiosity. Offhandedly she asked "Who's miserable?"

Tess smiled ruefully. "Come on, Isabel, I'd have to be deaf, blind, **and** stupid not to realize that Max is still head over heels for Liz."

Isabel saw that Tess didn't seem to be too bothered by her own admission. "And…you're okay with this?"

Tess's smile faded. "Well…no. And see, that's the thing." She looked square at Isabel. "I don't love Max. I…care about him, yes. I remember loving him, or at least thinking that I did. But I don't feel that way about him anymore. Which should be a good thing, for all else concerned. The thing is, I'm still a slave to this destiny thing." Tess's brow furrowed as she sought a way to convey what she was feeling. "I mean, I can recognize that this future isn't necessarily what I want anymore, but I feel almost powerless to change. I still feel the urge to follow it through. How can I change the way I've been programmed?" 

Isabel smiled sympathetically. "It's a dilemma," she agreed. "It would've been really helpful if they'd included a handbook, huh?" They shared a laugh, and then Isabel sobered. "All I can tell you, Tess, is to look inside yourself for the answer…follow your heart." 

Isabel turned to the window to resume her lookout, and the two girls shared a comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts about the future, and destiny, and choices.

~*~*~*~*~

They spent the ride back to Roswell for the most part in silence. They were both wary and on the look-out for Rath's trans-am, and **that** worry helped to keep them focused on the problems at hand. It would be too easy otherwise to fall into despair at what they knew was going to have to happen upon their return. Max tried hard not to think about being separated from Liz once they got back to Roswell, and tried to remember he had everyone else to think about, as well. Protecting Isabel and Michael from Lonnie and Rath's rage, and stopping them from finding out where the granilith was. But he was all too aware of Liz's movements in the driver's seat beside him, and he couldn't get the feel of her skin against his out of his mind. The unbearable sweetness of their night together permeated him, and he wondered how he was ever supposed to move on from her now…now, when she occupied his every thought. Now, when he was more certain than ever that they belonged together.

When Liz turned off onto the exit to Roswell, the bit of conversation they'd been able to make lapsed abruptly into silence…neither one of them wanting to confront the inevitable. But they could no longer put it off when Liz pulled up across the street from the Crashdown. They could see the outline of Isabel in the window, keeping an eye on the street. 

Putting the car in park, Liz started to shut off the ignition, then decided against it and her hand dropped back down into her lap. She found she couldn't turn to look at Max. Tears already threatened in her eyes. Everything would be different after this moment.

They sat there in silence for what seemed to be an eternity, neither one wanting to be the one to initiate their separation. Finally, Max spoke from the passenger seat. "We could…just keep going." he said.

"Max, don't…" Liz started.

"Just keep going…hit the next town. Leave this…"

"Max, stop." Liz said, still not looking at him. "You know we can't." 

She spoke quietly, but Max silenced. She was right, and he knew it. In reality, he knew he'd never be able to leave Isabel and Michael behind anyway…or anyone else, for that matter. As much as he wanted to be with Liz, his sense of loyalty wouldn't let him abandon everyone else who depended on him. His words were more the result of desperation than the thoughts of a rational mind.

Liz fought to keep her emotions in check. "You'd…better go." she said, and she felt Max looking at her. 

"You've always been so much stronger than me," he remarked. "When it comes to us…you've always been stronger."

Liz smiled faintly, finally looking at him. His eyes glistened with unshed tears. "No," she said softly. "In the end, when you had to…you were able to leave me." The tears in her own eyes finally spilled over, and she took his hand. "You're stronger than you think," she whispered. "And you can do it again now. Just…open the door, and leave."

Max took a shaky breath, and his right hand reached for the door handle. He hesitated, and there was a small, inarticulate cry from Liz, and he couldn't do it. He couldn't leave. His next conscious thought found Liz in his arms, and they were holding each other tightly. He captured her lips with his own, and Liz moaned softly into his mouth as they kissed hungrily...devouring one another. The agony grew between them with each stolen moment, and Liz's thoughts whirled around in his mind. _God, I need you…killing me…you're killing me, Max…_

He broke away from her, finally possessing the impetus to leave…if only to try and lessen her pain. He stared at his hand on the door handle. "You, Liz." he whispered fiercely. "It will always be you."

With that he yanked the handle up sharply, throwing the door open and bolting out before she could say another word. 

Liz watched through her tears as he walked away from her, and was wracked with sobs. She fought to regain her control, and as he neared the Crashdown she put the car back in drive and started off toward the hospital. Still crying, she never looked back to see him enter the diner, or the black trans-am that eased around the corner and onto the street after them. It idled there until Liz's car took a right at the next light, and then it sped up, taking a left at the same light. 

Entering the Crashdown, Max was met with a barrage of questions by a waiting Michael and Isabel. "Are you okay?" "Where's Liz going?" "Have you seen Rath since yesterday?" 

"How do we know you're really you?"

The last came from Michael, and Max looked at him. "I'm me." he said.

"Oh yeah?" Michael said. "Then answer me this: what did I use to keep in your room?"

Max's expression didn't change. "A sleeping bag…for when you'd come over nights."

Isabel jumped in. "What's my favorite Foo Fighters song?" 

Max raised an eyebrow. "Everlong."

"And my favorite shade of lipstick?"

Max was incredulous. "How am I supposed to know? Come on, guys…questions I can answer, maybe?" 

Michael interjected again. "Who was my favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?" There was a beat as Max and Isabel turned to look at him as one, and then he hastily added "Never mind, don't answer that. Okay, you're you. What's going on?"

Max sighed wearily, and sank to a booth seat. "Long night?" Isabel asked. 

Max tried to stop the flush that creeped over his face, but he knew it was apparent to the others. Isabel raised an eyebrow, and Michael smirked. "That good, huh?" he asked.

Avoiding the question, Max told them about how they'd lost Rath the night before, and hadn't seen him since. Michael told him that they hadn't seen anything from Lonnie since her attack at the apartment, and that Maria – last he'd heard – was still out. They were discussing possible plans of operation when they noticed Tess standing in the doorway to the dining room. It was the first time Max had seen her since learning the truth about Liz and Kyle, and he had to fight off an initial urge to be angry with her. _It's not her fault,_ he reminded himself. _She hasn't done anything yet in this timeline to deserve our anger._ He also wondered how long she'd been standing there…long enough to come to her own conclusions about Max and Liz?

Tess came to a stop before Max's booth, looking him over and ascertaining for herself that he was okay. "Max, can I talk to you?" she asked. 

Max looked up at her and saw Isabel nod to Michael out of the corner of his eye. The two left the dining room, heading either to the back or upstairs, leaving Max and Tess alone, and Tess slid into the booth opposite Max.

~*~*~*~*~

Liz entered the hospital room not quite sure what she'd find. She certainly didn't expect to see Alex, slumped over in a chair in the corner of the room, snoring lightly. The chair faced the door, and his head was propped at a rather awkward-looking angle, and it was clear he'd tried to keep himself trained on whoever might enter the room. In her emotional state it was almost too much to see his obvious concern for his friend…so much so that he wouldn't even go home to sleep in favor of staying here to keep an eye on her. Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes, and she wiped them away angrily. _Stop it!_ she commanded herself. _You are turning into a **huge** crybaby!_

A sound from the bed drew her attention there, and she was startled to see Maria's hazel eyes open wide and looking right at her. "Don't wake him," Maria said softly. "He's been here the whole time, I think."

With a quiet cry of relief, Liz crossed to Maria's bedside and swept her friend up in a fierce embrace. "Oh I'm so glad you're okay!" Liz said, trying to keep her voice low. "I was so worried about you."

Maria winked, grinning that know-it-all grin. "Nah, it takes more than a mysterious bolt of energy from some crazed psycho alien to take Maria DeLuca down!" she kidded. Liz half-laughed, half-sobbed as she hugged her again. 

Sensing her friend's sorrow, she pulled back and looked up into Liz's face. "Babe? What's wrong?"

Liz tried to keep her game face up, but failed miserably. She couldn't hide herself from Maria…she never could. Before she knew what was happening, she'd broken down and told her everything. About their night at the hotel, about the dreams, about having to leave each other that morning. Everything. 

She found herself in the chair next to the bed, her head in Maria's lap after telling the story. Maria stroked her hair gently, quietly absorbing everything. "It's just so hard," Liz cried, her cheek pressed against the fabric of the coverlet on the bed. "It's so hard being away from him…knowing the future we would have had together…what we could **still** have, if things were different."

"I know," Maria said soothingly. "I know." She sighed as she thought about the humans in this room, and the aliens they loved. _God, that makes it sound like a tabloid…_ she thought, and then continued her train of thought to Liz. "I know it's not any consolation…but maybe we just really **weren't** intended to be with them. I mean…think about how much misery we've all been through due in some form to them. And I don't even mean all the times we've risked our lives…I mean you and Max having to overcome so many hurdles to be together, only to find out you can't be. I mean me trying to be in a relationship with a guy who obviously doesn't want it. And Alex over there, falling for the ice queen. I sometimes wish…that we'd never found out, ya know? That whatever it was that drew us to them in the first place, hadn't happened. For your sake, if nothing else."

"But…doesn't that mean anything?" Liz asked, trying to make sense of it all. "Doesn't it mean anything at all that we **weren't** intended to be with them, but that we fell in love with them anyway? And…that they fell in love with **us**? I mean, how is that even possible, if this _destiny_ is so set in stone? If it's so ironclad, then how's it even feasible that they can even care about us? How is it possible when this is killing him just as much as it's killing me?"

She sniffled and sat back up, looking at Maria, who looked at her sympathetically. "I can't just **not** ever see him again Maria, I just can't. Especially with everything going on right now…I want to help, and I need to make sure he's okay."

Maria smiled, and her voice was filled with wisdom when she spoke. "All you can do is follow your heart, Liz."

Liz looked at her a minute later, and then made up her mind, looking a little relieved at having made the decision. "I'm going to go help," she said, picking her jacket up from the bed. "They'll probably tell me to go away, but I've got to do what I feel is right. Tell Sleeping Beauty here I said 'hey' when he wakes up, okay?"

Maria was serious. "Be careful, Liz. And…uh, see if you can keep Michael out of trouble for me, okay? At least until I get outta this place and can take over."

Liz grinned, flashed Maria a thumb's up, and headed out, leaving Maria and the slumbering Alex alone. Maria sat there for a whole thirty seconds before getting bored, and she punched the "call nurse" button. A wary voice came through, tinny over the speaker. "Maria...did you need something else?"

Maria settled back in her bed. "So I was thinking we could talk about the lunch menu, 'cause let's face it, something's **gotta** be done…"


	10. pt10

Max warily met Tess's gaze, searching her clear blue eyes for a hint at what she'd wanted to talk to him about

Max warily met Tess's gaze, searching her clear blue eyes for a hint at what she'd wanted to talk to him about. He wasn't **exactly** sure, but he thought he had a pretty damn good idea. And it annoyed him. Inside, he was resentful at the thought of having to defend his night with Liz. Especially to Tess. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself. _Remember,_ he thought, _that it's this very subject that spurred Tess to leave in the first place, in that other timeline. No matter how much you hate all this, you can't let her feel that way this time. You can't let all of these sacrifices be for nothing._ He took another breath and squared himself away, readying himself for the onslaught. When she spoke, it completely took him by surprise. "Do you hate me?" she asked.

Max was startled into answering her question with a question. "Hate you?"

Tess paused, as if gauging his reaction. "Yeah. I wanna know if you hate me."

Max was confused at the direction this conversation was going in, but was glad that he could at least answer her honestly. "No, Tess…I don't hate you." He watched as she searched his expression for the truth behind his statement, and saw when some of the tension left her face. Now he was curious. "Why do you think that I would?" 

Tess suddenly found the Formica of the tabletop fascinating, and wouldn't look up at him. He said her name twice before she finally met his questioning gaze. "I know…about the future." she said grudgingly. "I know what's supposed to happen because of me, and I know that you and Liz have decided you really can't be together because of it."

Max froze. "How do you know?"

Tess stared harder at the smooth table top, seeing minute cracks in the Formica, and picking at them nervously. "I…was kind of still in here the other night when you guys came back in." 

She finally looked up at him, her expression questing. Looking to see what his reaction was. He was stunned, to say the least. He opened his mouth as if to ask a question, and Tess said "I saw it all…you found out about the future, you realized my part in it, you guys kissed, and then she ran out." 

Max's mouth snapped shut again and there was yet more surprise evident on his face. He looked so dumbfounded for a minute that Tess almost laughed. But remembering why she was having this conversation with him, she sobered quickly. "Okay," she said, cutting to the chase. "I know all that, and I know that in the end **you** recognized that everything in the future happened because _I_ left. So my question now is, do you hate me for that?"

Max finally found a way around his surprise long enough to answer her, trying to show his sincerity with his eyes. "No, Tess. I don't hate you." he said again.

A bit of relief came to her eyes, but he could tell she didn't really believe him yet. "How could you not?" she asked. "I mean, even besides all of the crap that happened when I first got here…how can you not despise me knowing that I cause innocent people to die? Michael and Isabel to die? The loss of the love of your life? I'm like…evil, Max!"

She said the last half-jokingly, relieving the tension a bit. "You're not evil." he said, laughing a little. "And I don't hate you for this. I mean…yeah, I was upset; I still am, really. It's hard to know that there's a future out there where those things **do** happen. And I wanted to blame you for it. I wanted to be able to put all of the blame on you, so that I could still be with Liz. But that was wrong of me, and it didn't last very long."

He took her hand reassuringly. "Tess, I can't remember loving you, in that other lifetime. But I know that since I've known you **here** you've never been anything but sincere and perfectly honest and supportive of me. You've become someone that I count on, someone that I consider a friend. A part of all of us. And **you** haven't done anything wrong. How could I realistically blame you for things you haven't even done yet? And…if you felt things were bad enough to leave, then somewhere along the line I stopped making sure you felt like part of the group. And that's just as bad, Tess. That's part of the future that I want to change."

Tess felt her eyes sting, and blinked to keep tears back as he continued. "I can't hate you, Tess, even though I wanted to at first."

Tess smiled a little.. "But you still love Liz," she said, and it was more of a statement than a question.

Max's eyes never dropped from hers. "Yes." he said simply, as if she'd just asked him if he still needed to breathe. 

Tess nodded, as she'd already known the answer. She was silent for a moment, and she appeared to be thinking deeply. Finally she looked up at Max, and her expression was firm, as if she'd come to a resolution. "Then we're friends?" she asked with a smile.

Max smiled back. "Friends."

~*~*~*~*~

The bell tinkled loudly as Liz used her key to enter the diner, and she suddenly found herself center of attention. Max and Isabel were sharing a booth, talking about something, and they both looked up at her sharply as she came inside, obviously on the alert for Rath or Lonnie.

Max had half-stood when he heard the bell, and when he saw her he froze. God, it was amazing how she could incite the butterflies in his stomach just by walking into the room. He looked at her hungrily, and wondered at how he was reacting like he hadn't seen her in a week. He watched her step forward, take off her jacket and hang it on a rack, and he suddenly remembered that she had gone to see Maria at the hospital. He searched her face worriedly. "Is everything okay?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

Liz finished hanging her coat and turned around. "Everything's fine…I just wanted to see if I could help."

Max's words were quick as he crossed to her and put a hand under her elbow, turning her and heading back to the door. "You can't stay here," he said. "We don't have any idea when they might be coming after us, and there's no need for you to be at risk, too."

Liz pulled away from him, though he tried to grab her arm again. "No, Max. I'm part of this; you can't exclude me like I'm not."

Max leveled a steely gaze on her. "Watch me." he said. He grabbed her arm again and started actually pulling her toward the door. 

Liz dug her heels in. "Max I know how you feel…you don't want me in danger. I get that…do you think I like it that you're here, just waiting for them to come after you? I can't just sit back and watch it happen and not try to help." Max continued to pull her along, and her voice rose desperately. "Max, we all make our own choices, and I'm choosing to stay here and help!"

Max looked back at her, and Liz could tell that argument had an affect on him. How many times had he said that to her himself? _We all make our own choices…we make our own destiny_.

Max was torn between getting her out of the danger he knew was coming, and keeping her close to him where he could at least try to protect her. And it wasn't helping that he was still holding her arm, and he could feel the heat radiating from her body as she stood close to him. It infected him, swirled around and within him. He met her eyes. "Liz…" 

"She's right," Isabel said. "It's her choice if she wants to stay. And honestly, Max, who are we to pass up any help we can get? Especially from someone who's already proven to be invaluable in the past couple days." Max looked at his sister, and she continued. "She saved my life, Max. And yours. And it was Maria's presence that kept Michael from being killed." She shook her head as the thought occurred to her, and her voice went quiet; thoughtful. "Maybe the humans have more of a part in this drama then we originally thought." 

"Besides," Liz said, trying to lighten the mood a little. "It's not exactly like I can just leave here and go home, you know?" Isabel smiled at her, and Liz turned back to Max to see a defeated expression come across his face as he realized that he couldn't win this one. She would stay, and be in danger with the rest of them.

A scuffling from the back caught their attention, and they all turned as one to see Michael, Tess and Ava enter the main room after having come from upstairs. Michael's eyes locked on Liz. 

"How is she?" he asked.

Liz smiled. "She's okay. Up and giving the nurses makeovers already." 

Michael's relief was obvious, though he tried to act like it didn't matter to him one way or the other. Isabel smirked a little from the booth she still sat at, and Michael caught it. Instantly the macho _"I don't care about anything"_ bravado was back up. He looked back at Liz. "So, how pissed at me is she right now?"

Liz laughed. "I'm not sure…but I think a call from you now would help to lessen her nagging at you later."

"I doubt it," Michael muttered, but nevertheless turned immediately to go to the kitchen and use the phone. 

Liz laughed again, and heard matching snickers from Tess, Ava and Isabel. She turned to Max again, and saw that he was still looking at her with worry. "It'll be okay," she said. She took his hand gently, squeezing it in reassurance. And as she touched his skin, and his eyes met hers, she suddenly felt that something was wrong. Not just a feeling…a certainty. "They're here." she whispered.

Max's grip on her hand tightened, and his eyes shot to the windows. The street was empty outside. "I don't see anything…how do you know?"

Liz gasped, her knowledge growing more certain with each moment. "I don't know…I just know. They're here…outside."

Isabel rose from the booth in alarm just as Michael came back out from the kitchen, his face set with foreboding. "The phone's dead." he said. 

There was a beat of silence after his declaration, and then all of the windows in the diner exploded inward.


	11. pt11

Liz felt Max slam into her, and they both hit the floor of the diner as the deadly rain of glass fell all around them

Liz felt Max slam into her, and they both hit the floor of the diner as the deadly rain of glass fell all around them. Liz felt the shards pelt Max's back as he shielded her body with his own, and the sound of the explosion echoed in her ears. When it abated, Max shifted atop her and she heard slivers of glass slide off his back and tinkle to the ground beside them. There was more of the same sound from the front of the diner, and Liz realized that the remaining glass in the windows was dropping down and hitting the floor in pieces. And then there was another sound, outside. Footsteps. Liz looked up wildly and saw Rath step over the windowsill and into the diner, walking right through where there had been a window only moments before. The glass crunched under his boot as he stepped in, and as he raised his hand she felt Max ripped away from on top of her. "Max!" she screamed out, as he flew across the room, striking the far wall several feet above the floor, and then falling to his hands and knees before it. 

Ava whimpered in fear behind her, and a moment later Tess flew over Liz's head...hitting the corner where the two walls met, then falling to the floor beside Max. Suddenly the air in front of them shimmered, and a glowing wall sprang up between them and the others, trapping them in the corner. Max stumbled to his feet and tried to push against the wall, to no effect. He stood back as far as he could get and held out his hand, and a brilliant green light shot from his fingertips; buffeting the wall. 

Dismissing Max's attempts to escape his impromptu prison, Rath turned and leered at Isabel. Her eyes met his with fright, and with a jerk of his arm he tossed a bolt of energy at her. Isabel flinched, and managed to deflect the blast with a hastily constructed shield. The gold of his blast met the swirling red of her wall, and both bolts of energy dissipated into each other in a fiery orange maelstrom. Rath was aiming for another bolt when Liz felt a wave of heat and energy pass over her head from behind her, and another golden energy blast hit Rath. Liz turned and saw Michael run to Isabel's aid, leaving Ava alone in the back of the diner. Max continued to pound away at the wall with his powers in an attempt to break out, unsuccessfully.

Liz pushed herself up to her knees, and more glass fell out of her hair and onto the floor as she looked around wildly. Lonnie…where was Lonnie?

Liz's gaze came to rest on Ava, standing by the doorway that led to the kitchen. She stood there uncertainly, not sure what to do. When she met Liz's gaze, she started forward to help her from the floor. Liz watched as Ava took a step toward her in slow motion, and then her gaze focused behind her…on the woman with the tattoos and short cropped hair striding in from the back entrance. Liz reached out a hand to Ava, her mouth opening to give voice to an inarticulate cry of warning.

Ava saw Liz's warning, and spun around, terrified, and already knowing who she would see. Everything sped up again as Lonnie stepped forward and grabbed her viscously around the throat. Ava brought her hands up to her neck, trying hopelessly to free herself of Lonnie's vice-like grip. Lonnie snarled as she squeezed harder. "What?" she taunted. "What are you gonna do?" 

Liz finally managed to push herself to her feet, and – wondering if she should go out for the football team – tackled her third person in as many days. She and Lonnie and Ava all went down in a tangled pile.

Across the room, Tess gradually regained consciousness, immediately aware of a humming sound seeming to come from all around her. Shaking her head groggily, she looked up and saw Max throwing everything he had into trying to break out from behind the wall that trapped them both in the corner. The power radiating from him was the source of the humming sound. Eyes bleary from the stun of hitting the wall, she looked down at her hands on the floor until there were only two of them. She looked up again and saw the melee going on out behind the wall. Michael and Isabel and Rath struggled at the front of the diner, and she looked toward the back just in time to see Liz taking Lonnie down to save Ava. Lonnie was on her feet again in a moment, and attacked Liz with a vengeance…her anger re-directed. Even from across the room, Tess could feel the energy in the air as Lonnie prepared to blast Liz into oblivion. Ava stood, tears streaming down her face and making her mascara run. "Lonnie, stop!" she screamed. 

Lonnie paused a moment, and sneered at Ava. "What? What are you gonna do about it?" She glared at Ava menacingly, and the shorter girl dropped her gaze to the floor, backing down. Lonnie snorted contemptuously, and Tess watched as Liz started scrabbling to try to get up. 

Tess stumbled to her feet. She was still hurt, but she had to try to get out of this cage…had to help…stop this from happening. She focused everything she had on the wall, adding her power to Max's. Barely coming out of his concentration, he glanced at her quickly, lit up in reflection from the blue of her powers, and they resumed their combined effort to break free.

Ava looked down at her friend, the only person who had helped her and listened to her, and searched within herself for courage. Straightening visibly, she spoke again…her voice low and calm. "Lonnie, stop." she said. "Don't make me do this."

Lonnie almost laughed. "You don't have the spine." she said, not even taking her gaze off of Liz, who looked up at her would-be killer, waiting for the blast that would end her life. 

The energy built up in the air around them again, as Isabel drew back her arm, preparing to let loose a bolt of power that would fry Liz where she lay. Suddenly there was another pull of energy, and a flash of blue light struck Lonnie square in the chest, sending her soaring backward several feet, landing with a crash on a table and several chairs. Ava stood heaving, her arm outstretched, unbelieving of what she'd just done. Overcoming her shock, she rushed to Liz's side and helped her stand. Liz was breathing heavily. "You…You saved me!" she gasped.

Ava brushed her off. "We have to get out of here!" she exclaimed. 

Liz protested, pulling away from Ava. "We can't, we have to help the others!"

Ava grabbed at Liz again, trying to pull her toward the kitchen. _Why is everyone always dragging me around?_ Liz wondered in a daze. Ava was still shouting at her. "You don't understand…she's strong…much stronger than me. She'll kill us."

Liz tried to pull away again, looking around the diner madly, trying to decide who try to help first. Her gaze was drawn to the wrestling figures of Isabel, Rath and Michael at the front of the diner. Rath managed to pull free for a moment and struck Isabel solidly across the face, knocking her to the floor. Michael used the distraction to attack Rath, and they fought…mirror images grappling together, neither one able to gain the advantage.

Ava abruptly stopped tugging on her arm, and at the same moment Liz felt the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stand up as the level of static energy in the room rose rapidly. She looked over to where Lonnie had been thrown, and saw lights crackling and fizzing above the overturned table and chairs. Ava was terrified. "Oh, God…"

The air came to life around them, wavering and charged with barely restrained energy, and when Ava took hold of Liz's arm again an electric shock passed between them. With a crackle of sparks, Lonnie rose from the ground and trained merciless eyes on Ava. 

Suddenly there was a boom from the corner, as Max and Tess succeeded in bursting through the barrier. It knocked a concussive blast into Michael and Rath, and they fell to the ground, still struggling. On the far side of the diner, Liz and Ava rocked on their feet, but Liz steadied them with her arm, and they kept their balance. Lonnie rode the wave of power like a surf board, maintaining her stability effortlessly…her directive even more urgent than a moment before. The energy in the room came to a crest, and Lonnie screamed in release as she readied to smite Ava down. 

Stumbling out of the force field, everything suddenly went into slow motion for Tess. She saw Lonnie reach back, preparing to kill Ava, she saw Liz trying to shield Ava, trying to save her, she saw Max trying to pull Rath off of Michael, oblivious to what was about to happen. And she saw what had to be done. Suddenly, in that moment, everything was clear to her. She knew what she had to do. What she could become. How she could be **more** than she was designed to be. 

Launching herself away from the struggle on the floor, she sprinted across the dining room, leaping over an overturned chair, and threw herself into Ava. She sent her duplicate sprawling across the floor, and sent Liz tumbling as well. As momentum carried her forward, she heard a flash; felt a searing heat, and then oblivion. 

Liz watched the blast hit Tess square on, and as the blonde girl fell to the floor, lifeless, Liz cried out in horrified protest. Suddenly utter silence consumed the room, and even Michael and Rath let up on it for a moment as they all realized what had happened. Of them all, Lonnie was the only one with no shock on her face. Furious, she screamed in her wrath at having been thwarted. 

Rath got to his feet, and evaded with a snarl a half-hearted attempt to drag him back by Michael. He seemed to be the most shocked of all of them. He looked at Lonnie in disbelieving astonishment. "What did you do?!" he yelled, obviously distraught. "We needed her!"

Lonnie stood stock still. "I know," she said in a low voice. A dangerous voice. "I couldn't stop her…she knew what she was doing."

Rath stumbled forward, away from Michael and Max, who were still stunned at Tess's death. "Lonnie," he said desperately, as if she didn't understand, "What are we gonna do? We **needed** her!"

"I **know**," Lonnie snapped again, her rage growing again with each moment. Rath seemed not to notice.

He continued to come forward, freaking out. "Lon! We have to have the balance! One of each person! Now we've gotta have Ava…but…but now there's three of us. There can only be **two**!"

"I **know**!" Lonnie shrieked, and threw everything she had at Rath. The blast hit him in the face, and Liz had just enough time to see his flesh boil and peel back from his skull before his body fell backward and landed on the floor with a thud; his agonized screams ringing in her ears. In shock, Liz realized that it was **Rath** she'd seen dying in her flash with Max…Rath, not Michael.

Lonnie took advantage of their horror at Rath's death and focused what little energy she had left on Isabel. With a wordless cry, Max rushed at Lonnie, going in low and hitting her in the midsection with his shoulder, lifting her up high and slamming her back down against the wall. 

They had no more come to rest against the wall than she began to struggle like a caged beast, lashing out at him with teeth and nails and flailing limbs, and small bursts of her remaining power. Remembering her astounding physical strength, Michael ran over to help, shouting for Isabel to run. Isabel picked herself up off the floor yet again, and ran out of the dining room.

Seeing that Ava was okay, as Tess's duplicate groggily stood, Liz helped her up and they headed into the carnage to help repress Lonnie. She screamed in impotent rage as they restrained her, and she fought with the only weapon she still possessed. Summoning everything she had left, she created another blast of power, albeit a weak one compared to what she was capable of when she hadn't been expending continuously like this, and it sent Michael reeling back into the counter. Ava and Liz also fell away, both having already been stunned from catching the fringe of the blast that killed Tess. Max was left holding Lonnie alone. 

Suddenly she stopped struggling, but Max thought it might be less because she was out of energy than because she was formulating a plan. Never taking his eyes off her, he used the breather to check on the others in his peripheral vision. Michael lay several feet away, sprawled amongst the bar stools, but he was breathing. Though his connection with Liz he could feel that she was okay…a little shocked and stunned from the blast she'd caught part of, but she was all right. Through her he could feel her concern for Ava's injuries, who was knocked out but alive. Tess…Tess was beyond his help, and had been from the moment she'd hit the floor. 

In renewed anger, Max gripped Lonnie's wrists even more tightly, and shoved her again against the wall her back was to. Lonnie gasped, and then grinned lewdly at him. Max grimaced. It turned his stomach to see that expression on his sister's face. And suddenly he'd had it. He was fed up with being the kind and forgiving one. Tess was dead. Because of Lonnie. She had caused more pain and death and destruction in 3 days than Max had experienced in his entire life. Let go, he knew she would only continue to hunt them down, and she would never stop until Isabel was dead. He couldn't afford to take that chance.

Lonnie watched Max's face carefully, trying to pick up on what he was thinking. She could tell that he was coming to a decision about her. He could kill her…she knew that. But he was at the core Zan's genetic equal. Max was, in a way, her own brother. And she knew that he could never kill her, no matter the form he was in, or what life he had lived. She just had to appeal to his emotional side. She could bide her time…wait for another opportunity. And once Isabel was out of the way, they'd **have** to accept her. She was the only one who knew how to use the granilith to get back, and they'd need her to even be able to use it. One of each of them. She smiled at Max. 

"What are you going to do?"

Max looked at her grimly, never relinquishing his hold on her. "I should kill you," he responded. "For everything you've done; everyone you've killed and betrayed, and for the trouble you'd continue to cause if I let you live."

"But I'm your sister, Max." Lonnie's smile got wider as she saw his confidence waver a bit. "You know it's true…and how can you kill your own sister?"

Max struggled with himself as he realized the truth in her statement. Genetically, she **was** his sister. In a way, as much his sister as Isabel was. Lonnie cheered inwardly as she saw the hesitation and confusion on his face. She had him now, and she knew it. He was so weak. He had always been weak. 

Max came out of his introspection and saw the gloating look on Lonnie's face. Without a word, he knew what she was thinking. Knew also that if she got away, this would never end. Isabel's life would always be in jeopardy…as would be the lives of anyone else who got in her way. Max made up his mind, and his voice was grave and hard when he spoke again. "You're right, **Vilandra**, you _are_ my sister." And he backed away from her, holding his hand out before him.

Lonnie's smile vanished immediately, as she realized she had underestimated him. "Why…why did you call me that?"

"Because just like Vilandra, you have betrayed and killed the people you professed to care about. Just like Vilandra, you put your own wants above the needs of those around you. Just like Vilandra, you are both willing and able to kill anyone who gets in your way to achieve what you want. And just like Vilandra, you don't care about a damn thing other than your own selfish vision."

Lonnie grew colder with each word Max spoke. She knew now he was serious, and that he could do it. She had to appeal to the human side of his nature. "Say you're right, Max…say I **am** like her. It makes sense; we have the same genetic structure, after all. But who are you to judge me? Who are **you** to say that I should die for being the way I am?"

Max's voice was steady when he answered her. "I'm the king." 

He started to draw the energy from within himself that he would need to blast her, and Lonnie jumped him. Caught off guard, he fell back under her onslaught. She was a blur of fists and nails. Max tried in vain to push her off him, but her rage made her strong and she punched him twice in succession, snarling. 

Liz saw that he was in trouble, and found that she didn't posses the strength anymore to stand up. She started crawling over to the struggling figures on the floor, wincing as the shards of glass on the floor dug into her palms and knees. 

Reaching them, she managed to raise herself up on her knees and wrap her arms around Lonnie's waist, allowing momentum and gravity to pull them backward, dragging her off of Max. Lonnie bounced right back up like one of those inflatable clown punching bags that constantly rose back up after you knocked it down, and raised a fist to attack Max again. 

"Lonnie!"

Lonnie paused in mid-swing, and looked over her shoulder to see Isabel standing in the doorway from the kitchen, where she had been listening to the whole exchange. She stood with her legs apart, her arms straight out in front of her, and Michael's "just in case" gun held tightly in her hands…her face a picture of barely restrained anger. Her aim never wavered as Lonnie's eyes met her own, and something unspoken passed between them. An acknowledgment of the different people they had become, even though they'd started out as the same person. On the floor, Michael had regained consciousness and was watching closely, as were Max and Liz. For an endless moment they were all frozen in a silent tableau, and then Lonnie leaped at Isabel in a snarling final gesture of defiance. 

She never made it.

The sound of the gunshot ringing in his ears, Max got to his feet and looked from Liz to Isabel and Michael. They looked back at him, wide-eyed. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Are you guys okay?"

Michael nodded, using the counter to pull himself up. Isabel was still staring at Lonnie's body, but she nodded as well. Max looked at Liz. There were scrapes and cuts on all of them from the glass, but Liz's hands and knees also oozed blood. Even so, her large brown eyes met his and she nodded once, then turned and looked back at Ava. "She's still out, but I think she'll be okay," she said. Her gaze fell on Tess, then, and Max could sense her regret and confusion. He knew exactly how she felt. 

As they tried to pull themselves together after the short, brutal battle, they all wondered…_What do we do now?_


	12. pt12

Always beautiful in the desert, the sunset this evening seemed to have been made specifically for Tess

Always beautiful in the desert, the sunset this evening seemed to have been made specifically for Tess. The last, fading remnants of the blue sky reminded Max of her eyes, and the golden sunlight was her hair, bouncing and shimmering as she laughed at him. He thought that this was a fitting place for her…that she would like it here. 

Max turned slightly from Tess's grave and saw that Isabel and Michael were standing a short distance behind him, waiting respectfully for him to finish his thoughts, and rejoin them. With a final look at the cairn of stones, Max turned and followed them up the path to the summit where Rath had tried to kill Isabel the day before. _God,_ he thought wearily, _so much has happened since then._ Yesterday Tess had been alive. She'd sat with Isabel and Michael and Ava at the Crashdown, and kept lookout for Lonnie and Rath, and she'd worried about him. He remembered his brief phone conversation with her from Alamogordo, the way he'd cut her off and asked for Michael. Had he always been so callous? But for whatever reason, Tess had seen beyond all of that, and in the end had sacrificed everything for them. _She deserved much more than we ever gave her._

The three of them stood there, looking out over the quarry and Tess's final resting place, with heavy hearts. They had lost one of their own. And as they watched the sun go down, each of them reflected on all that had come to pass that day, and what they had learned from it. 

Eventually, Isabel asked a question that had been on her mind ever since she'd stood in the shadows and listened to her brother tell Lonnie how much he hated her. "You seem to have had some…previously repressed animosity for Vilandra." she said. "Do you…feel that way about me, too?"

Max was shocked, and looked at Isabel in genuine confusion. "What? No! Why would I feel that way about you?"

Isabel kept her gaze on the setting sun, but her fingers played nervously with a button on her fashionable jacket. "Well, technically I **am** Vilandra…genetically, Lonnie and I were both her. By hating Lonnie…"

"No," Max interjected. "you're not the same person. You're not Lonnie, and you're not Vilandra. You're Isabel…a totally separate individual."

Isabel's features reflected uncertainty. "But…"

"No buts," Max cut in again. He thought for a moment about how to say what he needed to say, and then began. "We may have all started out with the same genetic structure, us and our duplicates, but we're not the same people anymore. Along the way, we've all been faced with choices, and how we chose determined what kind of people we turned into. Vilandra and Lonnie chose to think of themselves…betraying those they were supposed to care about. You, Isabel, chose to **protect** the people you care about. **Rath** was ambitious and opportunistic. In the end, his loyalties were to no one but himself." Max paused here and looked at Michael. "Whereas I would trust **you** both with my life…and have before." Michael swallowed, moved. Max looked out again into the sunset, and spoke softly. "And Tess…in the end, she became her own person. Rather than do what she was programmed to do, she broke free and made her **own** choice in saving Ava. And now, because of her, Ava is alive. It's all about the choices we make."

Michael got goose bumps as he thought about his words, realizing that Max was right. And Isabel took his words even more to heart. "You're right," she said softly. Isabel's face cleared, like she'd just had an amazing revelation. "You're absolutely right!"

Max looked at her curiously. "Isabel?"

Her voice was excited when she spoke, and she stepped back from the edge of the cliff to pace. "You're right, Max. About everything…all of this. This whole time we've been pawns. Sent here and manipulated by players in some game we don't even know the rules to. **Programmed** and directed here and there, so we'll act a certain way. Well it ends here." Isabel stopped suddenly, her mind working around it. She repeated herself. "It ends here. I'm done being their plaything. I mean…who do we owe our allegiances to, anyway? Our race? Lonnie and Rath? Our people? We don't even know anything about them! All we know is that they **cloned** us, and sent us here. They want us to fulfill our little _destiny_." Isabel said the word like it was profanity, and made the quotation marks in the air with her hands as she continued. "But they never stopped to think we might not want to. That's what's missing from this whole equation…our free will."

Max and Michael stood silent, watching Isabel as she appeared to be going crazy. But Isabel was far from it…she felt more liberated and sure of herself than she had her whole life. "Well I just found mine." she said. "And I know who my allegiances are to." She turned around and looked at her brother and Michael. "They're to you. And to Tess. And to all of the people who know what we are and cared about us anyway. Who have helped us and saved us at every turn." 

She walked up to Max, looking him in the eyes. "They're to Liz, who saved us all by letting you go, and who saved my life only **yesterday** in this very spot." Her gaze moved to Michael. "They're to Maria, who is in the hospital because of us, and probably the only reason you're alive right now." She looked down at her boots. "They're to Alex, who has never denied us his help, no matter how much I've hurt him. And they're to the Valenti's, and our parents, and our friends, and this whole life that we have here, guys."

As Michael and Max absorbed and thought about her words, Isabel smiled for the first time. "I think we each need to make a decision here," she said. "We can either continue to hold out hope for the mothership, or we can move on with our lives here, and make our own choices. Be our own people."

They all looked at each other, and Isabel's smile got wider as she saw the realizations in their eyes. She nodded a gracious farewell to them. "If you'll excuse me, gentlemen…I've got some free will that I'd like to exercise."

With that Isabel turned on her heel and started back down the path into the quarry.

~*~*~*~*~

Ava sat on the small bed in Tess's former room at the Valenti's, and looked around warily. Liz, packing some clothes away in the dresser, noticed her trepidation and smiled at her. "Don't worry, Ava…I know this all seems crazy and overwhelming right now, but Sheriff Valenti's a good guy. And…well, Kyle's not so bad once you get used to him." She said the last with a wink, and Ava almost laughed.

Almost.

Her smile quickly fading, Ava's expression took on again the fear that she'd shown ever since Liz had told her she'd be staying at the Sheriff's house…in Tess's place. "It just…feels kind of wrong to me, you know?" she said tentatively.

Liz looked at her knowingly, and sat down beside her. "I understand…and no doubt it will be kind of weird and hard at first. But this is really the best thing. There can't be any official investigation into Tess's death…and there'll be no need for one if you're here…**being** Tess." She interpreted Ava's uncomfortable look, and hastened to clarify. "You're still Ava…and we all know that. And no one is going to expect you to be just like Tess. You're two different people. But this is the best solution for you, too. You've lost the others…the people who have been your family. Let **us** be your family now."

Ava drew her knees up and clasped them under her chin. "I'm afraid…I'm afraid the others won't accept me. Because I'm not **her**. And not just Max and the others…but Sheriff Valenti and Kyle, too. They all knew her."

Liz nodded. "It will be hard…Tess will be missed, and they'll need to grieve for her. In a way, I will too. But like I said, you're **not** her. You're a totally separate person from Tess, and it won't be long before the Sheriff and the others see that, and appreciate you for the good person **you** are."

Liz looked at Ava sincerely. "You saved my life today…thank you. I can never repay you for that. But I want you to know that no matter what happens, I'll be here for you. If you need anything…even if it's just a friend to talk to when you're feeling lonely…I'm here."

Ava smiled shyly, and she felt a little better about her situation. As Liz rose to leave, Ava even managed to toss out a joke. "I think I can live here, and be happy. But…do I have to **dress** like you guys?"

~*~*~*~*~

As soon as Michael stepped off the elevator, he started getting dirty looks. It seemed like every corner he turned, and every station he passed by, all the nurses were glaring at him. It was enough to make a guy check to make sure his fly was up. Assured that it was, Michael continued on to Maria's room. One of the nurses up on the Intensive Care Unit had informed him with a scowl on her face that since Maria had regained consciousness and was considered to be in stable condition, she'd been moved to one of the regular rooms on a different floor. So he'd come on down here, carrying his little bouquet of flowers purchased from the gift shop down in the lobby, and gotten the evil-death-ray-stare from every single nurse he'd bumped into so far. There were even some **residents** of the hospital glaring at him. _Jesus,_ he thought, _how did she turn them all against me already? She's only been in here for a day!_

Michael passed an elderly woman in a wheelchair in the hallway and almost fell flat on his face when she stuck her tongue out at him. "Insensitive jerk!" she said, and By God she sounded like an eighty year old version of Maria. 

Shaking his head, Michael continued on until he found room 730. He heard voices within, but the door was open, so he just walked right in. 

Maria was sitting up in bed, her hair brushed back from her face and held up in little clips, and she was chatting amicably with a female nurse who sat on the edge of her bed, patiently letting Maria apply gobs of make-up to her face, and listening to her prattle on.

"So I'm like, 'what the hell's going on?', and he's like 'nothing, I'm just here to…bring her something she left at the diner', and then this blonde bimbo comes out of the shower, wearing only a **towel**, and it was **so** obvious what she had on her mind…"

Michael stopped in shock for a moment as he realized what Maria was telling the nurse, but then he realized she'd glossed over the real reason he'd been in Courtney's hotel room – to see what he could find out about her, and why she was so suspicious. He relaxed for a second, but then realized with indignation that this is why everyone was scowling at him. In less than twenty four hours she'd already managed to brainwash the entire hospital into thinking that he was a jerk!

Michael cleared his throat rudely. "Ahem. If I'm not interrupting anything of vital importance, Ms. Maybelline…"

Maria looked up at him and – almost- smiled. Then she seemed to recover herself, and nodded to the nurse as she got up to leave. She called out after her. "We'll chat later, Michelle…by the way that's a really great shade on you!"

Michael followed the nurse to the door, and shut it behind her, leaving him alone with Maria. Suddenly awkward, he brandished his flowers like a weapon. "I brought you these," he said. 

Maria eyed them warily. "Are you going to slay me with them?"

Michael was confused. "What? No."

"Then quit pointing them at me." she said, annoyed, then gestured toward a vase on the windowsill. "They can go in there."

Michael complied, unwrapping the flowers and placing them in the vase next to some pretty daffodils. He then turned around, not quite sure what to do next. They stared at each other in silence for a minute, before Maria finally broke the silence quietly. "Liz called me…I know about Tess. I'm sorry." 

Michael nodded; he'd figured she'd already know. With that said, he looked around the room as if waiting for her to bring up the next topic of conversation. Maria sighed. "I'm not going to make nice with you, Michael. You've been really harsh…."

"I know…" Michael started to interrupt, but Maria overrode him.

"**Really** harsh, Michael…and I'm done playing this game. I'm not going to sit here and poke and prod at you until you tell me what's going on…if you've got something to say, you're just gonna have to say it." With that she folded her arms in a defensive barrier before her and glared at Michael.

Michael found himself glaring back at her out of habit, before he realized what he was doing and dropped his arms, blowing out an exasperated sigh. _Good one, Guerin, pick a fight the second you see her, why don't you?_

Maria ended up sitting there watching him argue with himself, his mouth gaping open and shut, like he couldn't figure out how to start out. Finally, her patience was stretched too thin and gone were all of her wonderful proclamations of making him sweat it all out by his lonesome. Her voice was a little softer when she asked "Michael, what do you want?"

Michael's eyes shot to hers. At last…Providence. The chance. Losing any and all pretenses, he reached his hand out to her, palm up, beckoning for her to take it. "To let you in," he said simply.

Maria blinked. What?

Michael didn't withdraw his hand. Merely held it out for her to take until her eyes gradually grew wide with understanding and amazement. Questioning, and with no small amount of trepidation, she slid her own hand into his.

****

~FLASH~

The shock of all the images and sounds and memories almost made her jerk her hand back, but Michael kept a firm hold on her until she came out of it, and she was left sitting in her hospital, one of her hands clasped in his, and tears in her eyes. He'd really done it…he'd let her in. She looked up at him, and understood so much. 

Michael gazed back at her…his heart beating rapidly. Maria wasn't the only one who'd learned something. His head swam with images of Maria, feelings and emotions from Maria…and love for Michael was there. And this wasn't just what she said, or what he thought he felt in her, this was real. She loved him, and she accepted him, and he knew it. For the first time in his life, Michael knew that someone other than Max and Isabel genuinely loved him. The revelation took his breath away. When he got it back, he said "Screw Destiny."

Still amazed at what he had done, Maria choked out his name, and tugged on his hand. 

Obligingly, Michael moved forward, and his head bent down to meet hers as her arms came up around his shoulders, holding him to her tightly.

~*~*~*~*~

The sun had fully set by the time Isabel pulled up in front of Alex's house. She sat there in the jeep for several long minutes, trying to decide if what she was about to do was right. _No,_ she thought, _that's not what you're trying to decide. You're trying to figure out if you actually have the courage to follow up on all of your fancy words. Do you really have what it takes to be able to trust, and follow your heart for once?_ As she thought about everything that had happened in the past few days, and what she'd learned from it, she smiled to herself. _Hell yes._

With that she got out of the jeep, pocketing the keys and walking up the driveway to the front door. Alex answered the doorbell with a look of pleasant surprise on his face. "Isabel!"

Isabel smiled at him tentatively. "Can I come in?" she asked. 

Alex immediately held the door open so that she could enter, standing back as she came in. "Of course."

Isabel smiled again, and took a deep breath as she stepped over the threshold, and Alex shut the door behind them.

~*~*~*~*~

Liz sat on her balcony, gazing up at the stars. They sparkled above her, millions of miles away, and shone a faint light down that was quickly lost in the colored lights running round her balcony. In her lap, her diary lay unopened. Part of her wanted to get writing…put everything down so that she could look back on it later and remember, but another part of her knew that she would never forget the events that had transpired in the past three days. It would be with her, always.

As she sat there looking up, she suddenly heard a scuffling of feet on the ladder that led up to her balcony, and she knew it was Max. She could feel him approaching; coming closer to her. A small part of her was afraid of the new turn the bond between them had taken...it wasn't **normal** by any standard definition. But most of her accepted it, welcomed it. It felt strangely right to her, and his presence was a comfort…his soul with hers, where it belonged. She felt his anticipation as he climbed the ladder, and saw him rise above the ledge of the balcony a moment later.

She watched him climb over, and look at her when he stood facing her. A wordless moment passed, and then Max finally spoke. "Hi."

"Hi," Liz said back, her voice quiet.

Taking his cue from her lowered tone, he kept his own voice low as he inquired, "Your parents?"

Liz nodded. "They got home a few hours ago." She felt Max form the next question in his mind, and answered before he could say anything. "Valenti told them what we all agreed to, that it was vandals who broke in downstairs. They smashed the place up, but didn't take anything." She paused for a moment, remembering their angry and scared faces as they'd made sure she was okay, that she hadn't been there when the vandals got there, demanding to know from the Sheriff what was being done to find the people who'd done it. They were confused and frightened, and they didn't know the half of it.

Max nodded, remembering Sheriff Valenti's devastated expression when they told him about Tess. He'd demanded to see her body, and from his face one would think she had been his own child. In a way, Max guessed she had been. She had been in his home for a few months, now, and he had come to accept her as his charge. It had surprised them all when, eventually, he asked about Ava. They had previously agreed that it would probably be a good idea for her to stay in Roswell, at least until she had fully healed from the partial blast she took from Lonnie…and then she could decide if she wanted to stay permanently with them or not. But they weren't sure exactly what to do with her. It was informally decided that she'd stay at Michael's, but the Sheriff had stunned them when he offered to take her in. Max wasn't sure if it was simply a way to explain Tess's absence – by replacing her with a duplicate that no one else would ever know really **wasn't** Tess – or if it was a gesture in some way toward Tess's memory; to protect the person she had died saving. In any case, it was the perfect solution to an awful situation. 

Liz sighed, still looking up at the stars, and Max looked at her. She looked so frail and lost sitting there alone, and Max felt ashamed for everything she'd had to give up because of him and the others. He tried to form the words to apologize to her, but she turned her head slightly and looked at him with a soft smile on her lips. "Don't," she said. "It's okay. We make our own choices, remember? And I made the choices I did because they were right, and because I fell in love with you. There's nothing to apologize for." She looked again up at the stars. "And mine was not the most tragic sacrifice."

There was silence between them for a moment, and Max could tell Liz wanted to say something else. He waited patiently until she spoke. "Max, something's been bothering me…" she said. "Beyond all the rest of this, I keep thinking about the flashes." Max looked at her in confusion. "Over the past three days we've had flashes of the past," she explained, "of you coming back from the future, and that whole thing…and we've had flashes of the future. Like Rath dying, the glass exploding in the diner, and Isabel firing that gun."

Max nodded to show that he followed so far. "The one that really sticks with me right now is the one we dreamt about…the one where you were hurt." Liz looked up at Max, looking worried. "You were dying."

Max swallowed, remembering the dream. Remembering the pain as he lay on the cold floor of the balcony, Liz leaned over him, her eyes wide and terrified. He wanted to rationalize that it had only been a dream, but he knew better. It had **felt** real…it **was** real. Just as real as he felt the other two visions that night had been. He cast about for another answer that made sense. 

"Maybe," he said, "it **was** a vision of the future…only not this one?" Liz looked at him, waiting for the explanation. He continued. "The other moments we saw…I think they were from that other timeline…the one I traveled back from originally using the granilith. It's entirely likely that the flash of me dying was, too. Something must have happened, I must have been saved at some point, because we survived to go on and get married, and send me back here."

Liz's expression was thoughtful. "I'm not so sure," she said, but Max hardly noticed. Reminded of the future that they had originally shared together, he looked around the balcony and remembered – through Liz's eyes – their wedding dance here the night his future self had disappeared. Remembered the pain, and the hurt and loss after he'd vanished, and she was left here alone. Liz noticed the direction his thoughts were going in, and she smiled sadly. 

Max tried to smile back, pained. "It's odd…I can remember it all though your memories. It's strange…and painful." He met Liz's gaze, the remembered agony in his eyes. "I'd thought there could never be anything that would hurt me more than when I thought you'd slept with Kyle…" He paused as he couldn't help but glance in at Liz's bed, and then looked back at Liz. "That was before I knew how it felt to love you as my wife…and still know I couldn't have you." 

Liz closed her eyes in seeming pain, and Max moved to kneel at her side, brushing away a tear that slid quietly down her cheek. She reached up a hand to stop him, and he felt an icicle of fear in his heart. "Liz," he said desperately. "Don't push me away from you, please."

Liz looked at him sadly. "We can't, Max…we can't take the risk."

Max panicked. "What are you talking about? Liz…the situation is completely different now."

Liz shot back. "What if it's not? What if things don't change? What if the future still ends up badly because of us? What if Tess's death was for nothing?"

Max grabbed hold of her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "Tess's death will **never** be for nothing." he said firmly. "We won't let it be. We know the mistakes of the future now; we can avoid them."

"Can we?" Liz asked brokenly. "Can we ever really?"

"Yes!" Max exclaimed. God, he couldn't believe she was contemplating throwing everything away. Now, after everything they'd been through. The thought that he might not get through to her drove him crazy. "Liz, what are you saying?"

Liz was frustrated, he could tell in the way she gestured with her hands as she spoke, and it throbbed over the connection between them. There had been one thing or another between them for so long, she was looking for the next obstacle. "What's the point? What was all this for? So we could be together? Tess **died**, so what…so we could go to Prom together?"

Max continued to hold her, not letting her break away from him. "Don't…don't trivialize this. You know there's something important here, with us."

"What?" Liz asked bitterly. "We both know it wasn't in **the plan** for us to be together. We weren't **destined**."

Max gripped Liz tighter, forcing her to look into his eyes; meet his intense gaze. He caught her there, and could feel her drawn in with him into the feelings swirling in and around them. "Maybe not by my people; maybe not by yours. But maybe by something else."

Liz looked into his eyes, into his soul, and she saw herself there looking back out. She was **part** of him, and he was part of her. And she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was right. They were **meant** to be together. She stopped trying to pull away from him, and reached out a hand to touch his face, watching his eyes close as he savored the feel of her hand against his cheek. He opened his eyes again and saw her gazing at him lovingly, and his heart started beating again. "Something bigger." he said, tenderly, and kissed her.

As his lips met hers softly, Liz closed her eyes and let the love between them carry her away. It took them up into the night, through the sky, toward the atmosphere. Liz was distantly aware that they were having a flash, but it was different this time. They flew up through the clouds, and before they knew it they were embracing among the stars. The planets spun and whirled around them, spinning away merrily as they came close to them. They drew back, still together, and they saw it all; the entirety of space. The universe spun, and circled, and came back to the beginning. And they rose and fell beneath it, whispering words of love and devotion, as they were swept away together.

~FIN~


End file.
